Alen Hanson is not the solution at third base for the Pirates

     It was reported yesterday that the Pirates were moving Alen Hanson to third base in AAA in light of the news that Jordy Mercer is going to miss six weeks. Combined with the fact that Harrison is out already, it makes sense. However, I don't think Hanson is the guy that'll solve the problem. 

     First, I don't like the idea of sending a rookie out there learning a new position on the fly in a pennant race. It's a highly difficult thing to do, especially for a young player. There's no doubt he's big league ready; I just don't think he's ready for the role the Pirates want to place him in. It's hard enough coming into the league as a rookie to help out in a playoff chase i.e Polanco last year. It's even more difficult to do that while learning a new position. I just think that would put way too much pressure on him. 

     Alen Hanson is talented and will get his chance to be good in the big leagues. I don't think this is the right opportunity, though. He should be more focused on mastering the second base position, which he just got moved to because of his problems at shortstop. Now, he's got to learn third base when he wasn't even fully settled into playing second. Neal Huntington is playing a dangerous game right now with the development of one of his best prospects. 

     I am not a huge fan of this idea that the team is doing. It would be much better to get a guy that can play third or shortstop in the trade market and work with that. It's much better than messing with a great prospect that has a bright future. It's better for Huntington to dig into his deep prospect pool to trade for a proven player.