Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens is a non-tender candidate following a rough 2012 season, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Karstens has missed a large chunk of the 2012 season due to several injury problems, but has pitched well when healthy, and GM Neal Huntington appears to have faith in him."Jeff gives you everything he has every time he gets the ball" Huntington said.
Despite saying that, Huntington did not seem like he would like to resign Karstens, therefore indicating that he may be non-tendered this off-season. He will earn $3.1 million this season and could obtain a raise if Pittsburgh tenders him a contract. He has posted a 3.97 ERA in 90 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever this season.
Analysis: I don't know if it would be smart to non-tender Karstens. He can be very useful for Pittsburgh, considering that he is willing to resort to a bullpen role to help the team out. He isn't a bad pitcher, and has just had a string of injuries that have kind of derailed his season. If I was Pittsburgh, I would non-tender him (simply because he isn't worth $3.1 million or so) and try to resign him for less money. Rotation depth is always nice to have, especially when you have some unproven starters (Cole, Taillon), climbing up the ranks.
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