By John Franco
After Jeff Samardjzia threw a 2-hit shutout against the Pirates last night, and while Paul Maholm and Carlos Marmol were holding them to one run on five hits tonight, GM Neal Huntington finalized a trade for… a pitcher. Specifically, the Pirates traded Colton Cain, Rudy Owens, and Robbie Grossman to the Astros for 33-year old Wandy Rodriguez. Since it would be a shame for the Pirates to spend three prospects and a boatload of cash to miss the playoffs, Huntington needs to address their more pressing need: a significant offensive upgrade. Since this great season was unexpected, Huntington also needs to weigh the value of a 1-year rental against the likelihood that the Pirates will also need a big bat for 2013 and beyond.
This is a tricky post to write, because the players on the trade block have been coming and going very quickly. Carlos Quentin signed a 3-year extension with the Padres. The Diamondbacks are now unlikely to trade Justin Upton.
The Pirates’ biggest need is in left field. Alex Presley is just 4-for-28 since returning from the 7-day concussion DL in mid-July, and sports a .270 OBP for the season. With Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez providing most of the offense, the Bucs really need someone to set the table for them, and Presley isn’t getting the job done.
The Phillies have made Shane Victorino (.253/.316/.386) available, and he would be a good fit in the leadoff spot despite his middling numbers. Victorino is making $9.5 million this year and would be a free agent at the end of the year. It’s very unlikely that the Pirates would get any compensation as a result of his free agency, but that does help to lower his cost.
Victorino’s teammate, Hunter Pence, has also been mentioned as a trade candidate. Pence (.268/.336/.453 with 17 home runs) wouldn’t be a fit as a leadoff hitter, but would add another legitimate power threat to the lineup. I believe that Pence is under team control for 2013 (he’d be arbitration eligible) so he would likely cost the Pirates one of their big three prospects.
With Quentin off the market, his teammate Will Venable has drawn some interest. His numbers (.243/.315/.398) look a lot like Victorino’s, and his skills are similar. He is a completely different hitter away from Petco (.286/.354/.519 this year) and has at least 3 years of team control remaining, so he’s a tough player to value, assuming he really is available. The team control is nice, but the Pirates already have Jose Tabata as a (hopefully) adequate, cheap outfielder under control for a while, so they would have to believe in Venable’s ability to be a dynamic player in order to part with a big-time prospect.
Venable’s teammate, Chase Headley, has been shopped aggressively by the Padres. His natural position (third base) is one of the few areas of strength for the Pirates, but he could be useful as an outfielder or first baseman. Headley would be under team control until 2014, so his price would also be high.
If the Pirates are willing to make another major investment after the Wandy deal, they could purse Josh Willingham or Michael Cuddyer. Both players signed lucrative 3-year deals before the 2012 season ($21 million and $31.5 million, respectively) and are playing for teams that are a long way from contention.
Beyond these names, there are plenty of players the Pirates could ask about. How about Jacoby Ellsbury (free agent after 2013) from the Red Sox? I don’t think Jeff Francouer is an upgrade for the Pirates, but I know they’ve asked about his teammate Billy Butler. Maybe a shortstop, like longshots Jimmy Rollins and Stephen Drew? The possibilities are endless, and with a week to go before the deadline, the only thing the Pirates can’t do is stand pat.
You forgot Garrett Jones, which is excusable to a degree, because everybody does. The guy has been quietly producing numbers that match Alvarez’s. Though he has fewer home runs, he has fewer at bats, significantly fewer strikeouts, a similar OBP, and he is beginning to hit left-handed pitching. Give this team a legitimate table setter, and you could do well with Walker, McCutchen, Jones, McGehee and Alvarez 2-6. Add the solid bullpen and the suddenly deep rotation, and the team becomes a legitimate, beyond one round contender.
Jones has a .289 OBP. He’s producing some nice power at the bottom of the lineup, but that’s where he belongs given his OBP. Don’t get me wrong – the Pirates need a .263-13-43 guy even if he has bad plate discipline. McGehee is more of a problem than Jones… I’d actually like to see the Pirates get TWO bats and move Jones/McGehee into a platoon at 1B, but I don’t think they want/need to part with the prospects to upgrade 2 spots.
Getting Wandy helps a little bit, it’s a nice upgrade without having to give up a ton. I think NH is gonna see if he can get another fair value deal for a bat and if he doesn’t get that, he won’t bite. Marte coming up can be seen as an upgrade – He’s not a prototypical leadoff guy with his K/BB mentality, but you’ve got to believe he can be an upgrade over Presley.
I think Josh Willingham would be perfect for the Pirates and Neal Huntington knows it too the problem is he doesnt want to give up Marte or Cole to get him but he knows if the Pirates were to win the pennant its a small price to pay. But I think if the bucs throw in some major league talent like presley and even mcgehee or Josh Harrison even Tabata who is signed through 2014 (perhaps longer I cant remember). Doumit seemed to benefit in minnesota.
I’m huge Willingham fan. I’m not sure if they’d move him given how great his contract is, but if they would then I wouldn’t even mind seeing Marte moved for him.
One of the guys I didn’t mention was Denard Span, who is also signed to a very team-friendly contract. With Willingham and Span already signed, they aren’t completely hopeless when you add Plouffe, Mauer and the carcass of Morneau to their offense. But other than *maybe* Sano and a couple of other low-level guys, their farm isn’t contributing anything to the Willingham/Span/Plouffe/Mauer core.
I don’t know what the Twins are thinking, but I agree with Paul that J-Willy’s contract is pretty good. Still, committing around $16mil, plus Marte and a couple of B-level prospects… that’s a lot for the Pirates to invest in Willingham.
Unfortunately the guys the Pirates traded to HOU were probably the guys the Twins would want – pitchers who are almost ready to contribute.
That’s Jones’ OBP this year. He used to be a walk machine until Hurdle nagged him to death about swinging at more first pitches and doing damage. Left to play his game, this guy is a much stronger plate presence than he is given credit for. All of that said, I would be delighted with a couple of outfielders and a Jones/McGehee platoon at first. Jones will get most of the starts there, and he can spell whomever in right. And fine, hit him 6th. Barmes has a history of picking up the pace a bit in the second half, and his bat becomes less important if we get an outfielder (or two). Barajas is the more vexatious problem. I’d consider splitting his time evenly with McKenry.
What about Soriano? I know he is owed a lot of money but he does play left field and has been very good with the bat this year.
No doubt. You’re not the first to mention him and here’s how I replied to the other commenter re: Sori – “You know, that’s not a bad idea. It would all depend how much the Cubbies would pay Pittsburgh to take him. He is still owed $18 mil per THROUGH 2014. If the pricing worked out favorably for Pittsburgh, I wouldn’t hate it. He is still a powerful bat.”
It really depends how much the Cubs are willing to pay. He is owed 18mil in 2013 and another 18mil in 2014. He’s already 36, and while he might be OK next year, that 2014 year is going to be useless. The Cubs would probably have to kick in 15-20mil for Neal to even consider it, and probably 20-25 if they wanted any kind of prospect back.
The pirates just need a better shortstop, even though Barmes has been very solid defensively, he may be the worst hitter I have ever seen, maybe a Marco scutaro would be a nice fit. The Buce are also relatively well set in the outfielder with Cutch in center, and hopefully Marte in left for good! Maybe Shane Victorino in right, I like what he could do for the Bucs. Maybe give up a few small prospects and maybe Tabata in a trade. I think Tabata would do well in a place like Philli, he is very young and has much potential, and the pirates would be happy to get rid of his contract
I also think making Mckenry the permanent catcher would help the Pirates a lot, Barajas is a good veteran presence, but just isn’t getting it done offensively. With more plate appearances, Mckenry is just going to improve even more. Also, I think trading Barmes in a deal to get another bat would be nice, and I think Jordy Mercer would be a great fit, he has been playing well defensively lately, and has been hitting the ball better
I worry that McKenry would wear down if he was asked to play every day. I think Hurdle is doing a good job getting production from both guys without burning out either one (or letting either one get rusty). The Pirates have gotten 16 HRs from their catchers, even if the OBP isn’t great, that’s still in the upper third of MLB.
Barmes is signed next year, so dealing him would probably require eating some salary. He’s been a utility guy before, and he has a really good glove, so I wouldn’t mind keeping him around even if the Pirates do upgrade at SS. But I get the sense that they are happy with the total offense + defense package they get from him. I don’t think Mercer would give them better results if he played every day. (Barmes is a 2nd half hitter and a lot better with the glove). That doesn’t mean Mercer isn’t a good guy to have as the last man on the bench… provided they upgrade some of the other spots.
The pirates have a legit shot at the playoffs this year and I hope NH is smart enough to realize that
Good point about the catcher situation, but i still think Mercer can be an everyday guy, or maybe have Mercer and Barmes split the reps like Mckenry and Barajas. Even though he had a homer tonight, nothing is leading me to believe that he is going to have a good second half this time around.