Outfielders that make sense for the Pirates to target in a trade

The Pirates right field spot has been below average and has become a gapping hole for the Pirates. It's to the point where we've even seen Brandon Inge play out there and even Russell Martin once. Pirates traded for Travis Snider last year hoping he'd fix the hole in RF for many years but he hasn't gotten the job done. Jose Tabata will be back soon but he isn't expected to help us out either. This means that it is recommended that Neal Huntington targets outfielders in trade talks. There are plenty that are good options that teams are willing to deal. The big one that has come up is Giancarlo Stanton but the Marlins aren't going to trade him before July 31st so he's out. That being said, there are plenty of other options.

Alex Rios: Rios is putting up good numbers just like he's done his whole career. He can play all outfield positions so RF would be no problem for him at all. He is 32 years old and under team control. The White Sox are said to be "open for business" the only players they aren't trading are Konerko and Sale so Rios is available.  The one thing that may drive the Pirates away is his contract. He's owed 12.5 million dollars. For the Pirates to start talking Rios, the White Sox would have to pay a substantial part of that contract.

Nate Schierholtz: Shierholtz is a guy that would be a cheap option but people doubt if he can match his production that he has had in hitter friendly Wrigley Field. His road .OPS is far below his home .OPS. He's a player that would be cheap but risky.

Norichika Aoki: First of all, I didn't even spell his first name right and I don't bother to look it up. He's a guy that annoys me when he plays the Bucs because of his superior hitting ability. He has an Ichiro type swing and just slaps the ball. He seems to aim the ball in certain places. He's got speed which is shown in his stolen base numbers. He doesn't really fit what the Bucs need. They need a power hitter that can hit with RISP. Aoki is a table setter. So Aoki may not be the best option.

Michael Morse: Michael Morse is eligible to come off the DL on July 7. At that point the rumors about Morse will continue. He would be a perfect fit for the Pirates. He plays RF and he's a slugger. He has 11 home runs and he's been out a part of the season plus his home park is in Seattle. A fair ballpark just like PNC Park. His power numbers won't decrease by having his home ballpark be PNC Park.

Josh Willingham: Yeah, no thanks. We don't need a guy with an average below .230. He's not the same player he used to be and he'd be a rental player.

Written by Jared Lankes
June 28, 2013

Why sending Gerrit Cole back to Indianapolis would be a bad idea.

Wandy Rodriguez and AJ Burnett are on their way back from injury and will both be back very soon. Also, Jeanmar Gomez will make a start on Wednesday after his DL stint and rehab. With all these guys coming back, some guys will be taken out of the rotation. We are pretty much certain that Gomez is going to the bullpen once Wandy Rodriguez gets back but it's still up in the air who will be out once Burnett gets back. One of the ideas batted around has been optioning Cole back to AAA. In my opinion this is not a good idea. Gerrit Cole is 3-0 and he's getting better with every start. The guy has been dominant. The reason he'd be sent back down is because he's the only guy with options. The other option for the 5th rotation spot is Morton and in my opinion Morton hasn't been that impressive. Cole and Morton have each started 3 games and Cole's numbers have been much better. The Pirates like to make decisions that will be the best for the team now and for the future and wouldn't that mean they go with Cole? Right? Russell Martin said that Cole has "the best fastball he's ever seen" that's coming from a veteran catcher who's caught a lot of different pitchers. You can't send him down. Also, I think sending him back down would be bad for his development. He's on a roll in the majors and you don't want to cut that. He hasn't struggled. If he was struggling than I could justify sending him down. Optioning him to Indy could ruin his development as well. Also, this guy is all the hype. When he starts, the Pirates are put in the national spotlight. We've seen a ton of young pitchers that have stayed on their major league clubs after success. Most notably Matt Harvey, Michael Wacha and Tony Cingrani. Sending Cole back down would be a stupid move and not one that a contending ball club makes. Cole is a major league talent and he is as confident as ever. I can't find any good reason in ruining that for him, it would be detrimental to the team and his development.

Is Pedro Alvarez starting to become the player we thought he'd become

Pedro Alvarez has been on a tear in the month of June. Every hot streak he has begs the question, has he turned the corner? The 2nd overall draft pick in 2008 has had his share of hot streaks. He is a guy that will hit at least 30 homers a year. The problem has been his chase percentage numbers and his strikeouts. There has been plenty of young power hitters that early in their careers they strikeout a lot but hit plenty of homers. Eventually they figure it out. Two big examples from this year are Mark Reynolds of the Indians and even more notably Chris Davis of the Orioles, who leads the majors in homers. These guys have been able to cut down on their chase %, strikeout rate while keeping their power numbers. In the month of June, Alvarez has done just that in June. He is contacting the ball more and striking out less. What makes this hot streak different is that it has been prolonged over the whole month period. Usually his hot streaks only last 7-10 days. This streak has been 3 weeks. Alvarez's power is the best that the MLB has seen in a long time. If he can hit .250-.260 with his power he can easily be a 40-45 HR guy with 105-110 RBIs a year. If he can become that than we got a superstar on our hands. He still has a long way to go before he reaches his potential but I think he's on his way to being one of the great hitters in baseball.

Why the Pirates should trade for Marlins Giancarlo Stanton

David Schoenfield wrote an article that said that the Pirates should make a serious run at Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton. I agree that the Pirates should go after him. All the guy does is mash home runs. It doesn't matter what ballpark it is. He can hit home runs in Miller Park or even Petco Park, it doesn't matter. The guy is a once in a lifetime talent that we may never see again in the major leagues for a long time. He has already hit 100 home runs and he's only 23 years old(or should I say 23 years young) The Pirates are in desperate need of a slugging right fielder. Stanton fits the bill perfectly and then some. The Pirates right fielders are last place in the entire NL in OPS. That's a gaping hole that needs to be filled and outside of Pedro Alvarez, there hasn't been much power in this lineup. Alvarez has 16 home runs, the next guy closest is McCutchen with 7 home runs. Our everyday cleanup hitter Jones only has 6 home runs, not too scary. Stanton would fit perfectly batting behind McCutchen and ahead of Alvarez or Martin. If you're worried about if Stanton,who is a right handed hitter,can mash homers in left field at PNC Park, well don't worry. The guy can easily hit homers in PNC Park. He launches balls well over fences everywhere and will even put a crack in scoreboards every once in a while. Now the cost to get Stanton would be extremely high, as it should be considering he's one of the best in the game. It would take our top pitching and hitting prospects (Taillon,Polanco) and Tony Sanchez and probably someone like Andy Oliver and maybe another low end prospect. The price isn't as bad as it seems. The Pirates have a deep system and can afford to give up some top prospects. If Taillon is traded, you still have Glasnow,Heredia and Kingham and if you lose Polanco you still have Bell,Meadows and Barnes. If you lose Sanchez, you still have Martin in the majors with McGuire in the system. Nobody cares about losing Oliver. A Taillon,Polanco,Sanchez,Oliver and another low end prospect for Stanton sounds very reasonable. Marlins won't be contending till after Stanton is a free agent after 2016 anyways. The Pirates best chance is now to get an impact player that can balance the power of the national league in the Pirates favor. Prospects aren't sure things and Stanton is a sure thing. Any one of our top prospects can be a bust, Stanton will not be a bust. The other thing is Stanton wants out of Miami. He hates it there. Also, Osuna is playing well and may be pushing Stanton to get traded. I have a hard time believing that Stanton won't be traded. I doubt that the Marlins are hanging up the phone when another GM says "Giancarlo Stanton" Marlins have to be interested in seeing what they could get back from trading him. Imagine a Marte-Cutch-Stanton outfield. Sounds nice doesn't it? The time is now for the Pirates to make the big,bold move that will lead them to the promise land.

Pirates recap 6/20 at Reds

After losing in 13 innings late on Wednesday night. The Pirates and Reds were back at it early on Thursday. Brandon Cumpton for the Pirates was going up against Homer Bailey, who no hit the Pirates in his last start vs The Pirates last year. Cumpton ended up going 5 innings allowing 2 runs only one of them earned. The Pirates got some big 2 out hits from 3rd baseman Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez hit a HR and had all 5 of the Pirates RBIs. Since Grilli was unavailable, Watson got a rare 2 inning, 6 out save. Pirates won 5-3 to earn a series split against the Reds.