Report: Braves, Pirates have made offers to Pagan
When Angel Pagan enters the World Baseball Classic to represent his native Puerto Rico on Friday, he will still be unemployed by a big-league club, but things may be different when the event comes to its conclusion.
The 35-year-old free agent has received multiple offers from clubs, including the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Jon Heyman of FanRagSports, who reports none of the offers are acceptable to Pagan.
Pagan was pretty outspoken about his situation on Wednesday when he mentioned he was not willing to accept a minor-league deal, which had been offered to him by several clubs.
"I just don't feel I need to be fighting for a job ... If a team wants me to help a team win, they know I can help them win," Pagan explained to MLB.com's Chris Haft.
"Because I've been in that situation. I'm a winning player. I'm healthy. They'll see it in the (World) Baseball Classic," he said.
Atlanta is expected to use a starting outfield of Ender Inciarte, Matt Kemp, and Nick Markakis, so Pagan could fill in as the team's fourth outfielder.
He'd likely fill the same role with the Pirates, as they send out one of baseball's best outfields on a daily basis with Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gregory Polanco getting the majority of starts.
The veteran Pagan slashed .277/.331/.418 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 129 games for the San Francisco Giants last season.
Over his 11-year career, Pagan owns a .280/.330/.408 slash line with 64 home runs, and 414 RBIs, while owning a .738 OPS.