It was reported yesterday that the Pirates are connected to three infielders, all on the left side of the infield. Those three being Ben Zobrist, Clint Barmes, and Cliff Pennington. With the injuries of Harrison and Mercer, it makes sense that the Pirates are considering all their options. But, can any of these guys fit well enough to help? Let's take a look.
Ben Zobrist: I'm going to start with what seems to be the most unlikely of the three to happen. Zobrist is a high profile name in the market this year with many teams looking at him as an option. It's no surprise the Pirates are in on him. They were in on him last year. Enough so that there was even a false report that he was dealt to the Pirates. Anyway, I just don't see it happening. I wish I could say I think it would, but it isn't what Huntington does. Neal Huntington hasn't gotten a high profile player in July in his first four tries as a buyer. The biggest July deal he's ever made was for Wandy Rodriguez in 2012(don't count the Byrd and Morneau August trades). There's been little proof to think Huntington will go after a big name player to help out even if he needs to which I think he does.
Clint Barmes: Of course we know plenty about Barmes. He was a Pirate from 2012-2014. He might not have been able to help out much with the bat, but he is a proven clubhouse leader that plays stellar defense. Now, can he help out? I think so but only as a patch up option because of injuries. Barmes wouldn't provide much of an impact that the team needs to help them catch the Cardinals. If Barmes is the guy that the Pirates get to patch up, that means they would need to get an impactful bat at another position.
Cliff Pennington: Pennington, much like Barmes, is just a patch up option that wouldn't provide much to the team other than filling in for injuries. Pennington has fallen out of favor for a lackluster Diamondbacks team which I think is all we need to know. He's not worth it, in my opinion.
In conclusion, I think Zobrist would kill two birds with one stone(hope one of those birds is a Cardinal). He'd be an impact bat while also filling in for injuries and patching up holes on the team, very similarly to Harrison last year. If not, Huntington would need to make two trades. It'd be much easier just to trade for one. I'm still not confident Huntington will help this team as much as he has to. I hope I'm wrong. We'll see.
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