Projecting Non-Tender Candidates for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Jun 28, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Vance Worley (46) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Braves won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Locks to be non-tendered

• Travis Snider – Snider’s return to the Pirates in late summer was more of a feel-good story than any tangible addition to the roster. The outfield depth is cloudy right now, but the Pirates will save money where they can, and that includes Snider’s projected $2 million+ salary.
• Travis Ishikawa – proponents of bringing Ishikawa back point to his multi-positional flexibility. Critics of bringing him back will point to his utter lack of production. The critics win.
• Vance Worley – probably the hardest player to put in this section of the list, but after a 0.0 WAR season that saw him spend a large chunk of it away from the big-league club, it feels like Worley has reached the end of the road with the Pirates. It spoke volumes that the club felt it needed to go out and get Joe Blanton to pitch long relief rather than roll the dice with Worley. Worley has still not put together two consecutive “good” seasons.

Last, let’s look at those that make us shrug our shoulders.

Next: It could go either way