Baseball is never dull; not even in December. The Winter Meetings are just about upon us, starting on Monday, December 7th in Nashville, Tennessee. Winter Meetings are a popular time for trades and signings and shaping teams rosters because everyone is convened in one place which escalates talks more so than at any other time. It is a beautiful time of the year if you love seeing the landscape and the rosters in baseball change. It is like an early Christmas for MLB teams and their fans. With all that being said, I am going to preview what the Pirates "wishlist" is for the meetings.
1) First base must be addressed: Honestly, I thought that non-tendering Alvarez was a mistake. It is really difficult to replace his production on the offensive side, especially for $8M or less. This now leaves the position, at least right now, in the hands of Michael Morse. I like Morse, but he is no longer a guy that should start everyday. He is a good platoon partner, though. I wouldn't be shocked if the Pirates found a left-handed 1B that is only under contract for a year or they sign one for just a year. This will give the Pirates a low-risk, high-reward scenario while also not having to rush Josh Bell unless they absolutely have to. That is the likely route the Pirates will take.
2) Trade Walker and/or Melancon: Both these guys are going to be due big money in arbitration, and I do not believe the Pirates should pay either of them that money. If I had to pay one, it'd be Walker. A closer, no matter how good he is, shouldn't make $10M+. Pirates payroll can afford Melancon, but at the cost of not being able to make the overall team better. Getting Melancon or Walker off the payroll would take off 10% of the payroll that could be used in other areas while also probably fetching at least a decent return. Besides, the Pirates have guys that can replace both those guys, and at a cheaper rate that makes sense for them. At least one of them will have to go in order to free up some payroll.
3) Sign a middle-rotation pitcher: With the retirement of Burnett and Happ signing with Toronto, the Pirates rotation is weak outside of Cole and Liriano. Locke and Morton could fill out the 5th spot but nothing more, and Webster is an unknown. I would only trust 1 of those 3 guys in the rotation. This actually leaves 2 open spots in the rotation until Glasnow and/or Taillon/Kingham are ready, which we don't know. Just like with Bell, getting starting pitching, so we don't have to rush Glasnow or others, would be a good idea.
Now, I think we can't just keep scurrying by with reclamation projects, especially with Benedict gone. One is fine, but can't rely on them as the Pirates seem to do. I think this is the year the Pirates must pull the trigger on a proven guy. Guys like Leake, Kazmir, Gallardo, Iwakuma etc. could make a lot of sense. If they go the injured/reclamation route, Fister, Henderson Alvarez are likely the top choices.
There is also the possibility of trading for a proven guy. This might be the route the Pirates go, especially since they have Melancon and Walker as trade chips. They also have the deep farm system to get a pretty good pitcher, without even giving up guys like Glasnow, Bell, or Meadows. Willy Garcia, Harold Ramirez, Taillon/Kingham, Diaz, McGuire, and others would be fair game for trades and could fetch the Pirates a solid pitcher to fill the middle of the rotation. Huntington smartly traded JaCoby Jones at the deadline this past July to acquire Soria. Since, Jones has been suspended. The reason this is significant is because it means that anything can happen to prospects. They could have a ton of value one day and none the next. Pick and choose the ones you cherish to the highest degree wisely. Use some of the second-tier ones as trade bait, especially when you got a deep system.
4) Get bullpen help: The Pirates bullpen is always something that could use some work, no matter how good it is. This offseason is no different. The Pirates likely won't retain Blanton and Soria, they'll likely trade Melancon, and the future for the Pirates and Bastardo is in doubt. All this means that the bullpen has to be rebuilt in a sense. Huntington has done great at building bullpens, and there is little doubt he will do it again. However, just like with starters, it cannot be done with just reclamation guys. Some proven guys have to come in and help. I think the Pirates showed they are willing to do that after getting Soria in July. I think they will either trade or sign a quality bullpen guy or 2 then fill in the rest of the bullpen with some cheaper options like a lot of teams do.
I am not expecting the Pirates to break the bank at the meetings or this offseason, and they don't have to. However, there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to expand the payroll similarly to how they did at trade deadline time. Also, if they get rid of Melancon and/or Walker's contract in a trade, plenty of money will free up for them to do big things. Also, there has been a lot of money coming off the table this offseason when you consider Alvarez, Hart, Ramirez, Burnett, Soria, Happ, Blanton, Rodriguez, and others' contracts are all not part of the payroll anymore. When you look at the total that those guys made, that took up A LOT of payroll, combined that of course with Walker and/or Melancon, and the Pirates definitely should have the necessary money to put a pretty good-looking team on the field on 2016. They SHOULD be able to make at least one pretty good splash in the offseason, as early as this week in Nashville. If they don't pull the trigger this offseason and stick to small tweaks this offseason, it would be a huge mistake. This team is very raw and uninspiring outside of the core guys. Pirates can't possibly waste this much talent by having another small offseason. I think it is time to do something big to avoid having another one-and-done playoff year again. If Pirates want to get to the next level, they have to do something big, and again that doesn't mean you need to sign someone for $100M+.
Pirates will be active at the meetings for sure. The only question is: How much and how big of moves are they trying to make. This week will definitely be one that will have me checking what teams, especially the Pirates, are doing as much as possible. Who said baseball can't be fun in December anyways?
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