The 35-32 Pirates have the third-best ERA in the National League but are dead last in runs scored. Unsurprisingly, manager Clint Hurdle says that the club will be on the lookout for offense as the deadline approaches, write MLB.com's Tom Singer and Mark Emery.
"We'd like to first look for ways to impact the offense," said Hurdle. "We do feel like we're in a competitive position on the mound. We do have a couple of areas where we've got some surplus, some depth that might be attractive to somebody else."
The skipper has met with GM Neal Huntington this week to discuss possible moves, both internal and external. However, Hurdle emphasized that it will take some more time for the trade market to develop. The Pirates' pitching depth has taken some hits as of late but it will be restored somewhat with the impending returns of Jeff Karstens and Chris Leroux.
Encarnacion to Pitt for ?
The only thing Alex Anthy would accept for that is Andrew Mccutchen or Alvarez and one of their many (many) first draft picks.
For some reason can’t see the Pirates being too distraught over giving up Alvarez. Let him become someone else’s problem.
You say McCutchen or Alvarez like they are anywhere near the same value……
That was pretty funny in two respects.
1. That McCutchen and Alvarez were mentioned in the same sentence.
2. That the Pirates would ever deal Taillon or Cole.
Never say never.
They did deal that 3rd baseman Amaris Ramirez, so I would trade with the pirates!!
Ramirez was in the last year of his contract. They have McCutchen, a possible MVP, until 2018. They have Alvarez long term too. Why would they give up either?
different owner, different president, different GM
actually, MLB required the Pirates to deal Ramirez in 2003 to dump salary, as they didn’t meet MLB’s debt to equity requirement… Google the phrase “Pirates prez says debt is manageable” for more info.
that was a terrible trade made worse by then-GM Dave Littlefield’s ineptitude, but rules are rules — MLB can’t just give secret loans to keep teams solvent. after all, when the Mets found themselves in a similar position recently, they likewise were forced to dump David Wright… right?
Without a doubt one of the most absurd comments I have ever seen! EE will never be on the same level as Cutch. Even if EE becomes the next Bautista, there is no way Huntington will ever deal Cutch so short into his new contract. Pirates Nation would literally murder NH if he ever did so
Well, the Bluejays really need pitching and EE is not a star, so they would probably get a AAA pitcher, like Jeff Locke or Bryan Morris. SP Rudy Owens is doing well and is close to the majors, but he may be too much for Huntington to give up.
Victorino to Pirates could make sense.
nope, Pirates need a power OF, Victorino is too similar to Cutch and Marte (AAA)
I would love to see them trade an arm for someone like Chase Headley.
Josh Bell and a power arm in lower minors should get that done. He’s available for sure given the Padres depth at 3B.
He’ll be a nice piece for whoever gets him. Good defense and decent offense. Would play 162 if they let him. As a Padre fan I’m interested to see what he does outside Petco.
Heard BAL was also interested.
There is absolutely no way the Pirates will ever trade off Josh Bell. First Bell has been hurt for essentially the entire season. Not mention the Pirates drove him away from his Texas commitment for 4mil. I think people might be over valuing Headley anyway. Granted he does have potential, especially outside of Petco. I think a MLB ready pitcher such as a Jeff Locke plus a mid grade prospect and cash considerations should get the deal done
He’s been terrific for 2 1/4 seasons now, if anything he is undervalued, you aren’t getting him for so so prospects.
Granted, but Josh Bell is currently untouchable.
Exactly what is your definition of terrific,
2010 – .264/11/58
2011 – .289/4/44
2012 – .267/7/32
not exactly what I’d call terrific. At best if I was the Pirates I’d offer Owen, Locke, or Wilson and a lower level prospects. If San Diego wants more, go rip someone else off.
Did you really just use RBIs to prove what you’d call terrific? Look at the team he’s on and the players around him. That’s not even fair lol. This season he’s been able to increase he walks even more, and this season and last season he’s posted an OBP in the .370’s. Not to mention that he’s capable of playing solid defense at 3rd. Oh, and he doesn’t K 30% of the time like Alvarez. Headley has also been a lot better throughout his career away from Petco, and the numbers are pretty significant
fangraphs.com/statsplits.aspx?playerid=4720&p… him out of Petco and you have yourself quite a productive player.
I’m not saying he’s a bad player. But to say he’s had “2 1/4 terrific seasons”, to me those stat lines are far from terrific, bad team or not. Neil Walker over that same time period has very similar numbers. Doesn’t mean the Pirates would ask for your “top hitting prospect and a power arm” in return.
I get that he’s been playing on a bad team the last season and a half. But in 2010 if I remember correctly San Diego was in the hunt until mid-late September. So I’ll give him a pass on the RBI’s. However Headley is only hitting .239 with RISP. And playing half his games at Petco takes away some of his power numbers. But for people to think the Pirates would give up a top 10 prospect for a career .269/.346/.395 guy. I’d much rather stick with Alvarez.
Oh, and by the way you might want to check Headley’s stikeout numbers this season. He striking out 27% of the time and doesn’t show anywhere near the same power that Alvarez does.
Headley is K% is 22.7% according to fangraphs, so I’m not sure where you got the 27%.
fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4720&posit…
The OPS is nothing to ride home about either for a player at premium power position. NH will use Headley’s massive HR total of 4 last year and his other dismal stats to his advantage in trade talks. Your not going to get the return you think you will, but it will be a nice group of young low minor players with potential.
Oh man, dude RBI’s are not a credible stat.
Headley could be a great pickup.
In his last 3 years, Headley is:
avg/obp/slg%
2009-.262/ .343/ .392
2010- .264/.327/.375
2011- .289/.374/.399
2012- .267/.373/.418
That is with 1/2 his games being played in Petco Park (a spacious pitcher’s ballpark)
This year, his slugging % is nearly 100 points higher on the road than at home. So Petco is obviously affecting his run production.
I would give up Brian Morris and Stetson Allie
If it comes to calling Jeff Karstens pitching depth, then you know you’re not a very good team.
Their record would say otherwise.
4th best team ERA in baseball right now (maybe 3rd after tonight?). …and Karstens was arguably the Pirates best pitcher last year. Not bad for pitching depth.
Karstens is a good pitcher. What are you talking about? He was money last year. Clearly you don’t know much about the Pirates.
His ERA last year would say otherwise too.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, take Youkilis. Send us a starter in return.
we’ll take youkilis for a low-A, no potential pitcher
Give you Barmas for Youkilis and cash.
I would take Youk for Jeff Locke and Stetson Allie.
Horrible trade for the Pirates
Stetson Allie is not going to be our Starting 3B in 5 years and Locke is only average stuff. So why keep them?
Willingham and Perkins would be ideal for me, or maybe Pavano or Liriano. I don’t think you can ever have enough pitching depth. Would also like Quentin and a pitcher from the Pads but they don’t have much to offer at this point. Street can probably be had for free but I wouldn’t mind another back of the rotation type, then Lincoln can go back to the pen unless he is dealt.
I want Pedro in the lineup for the rest of the season, and Jones and McGahee can platoon at first. I honestly don’t think there’d be many 1B that would offer that much of an upgrade on the market, not a huge Morneau or LaHair fan. Tabata looks like the odd man out to me so RF should be the priority. Can’t really find a SS upgrade at this point so just look for a RF bat unless a very good 1B is on the block. Oddly enough, I wouldn’t mind Doumit as a backup catcher/super-utility type.
Almost everyone their is on the Twins. You might be a little mental.
Well there aren’t many other options right now. I wouldn’t mind Soriano or Quentin, but right now there’s a lot of good teams in each league. It will take another month to clearly define buyers and sellers.
You do have a point, but doing that is still better then adding a Twin.
You are terribly short-sided. Just because the Twins suck doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to help the Pirates. Willingham would help immensely. Span wouldn’t help as much, but he would be a good OBP guy. Doumit has pop and versatility. Morneau has been a stud and is performing well. Carroll is a solid utility man. Every player I just mentioned would be helpful to teams in a pennant race. The reason the Twins suck is that they can’t pitch.
Yes, their lineup isn’t bad, it would be silly to deem all their players as useless because of their poor record. They have guys who would be useful if they put them for sale, and Willingham would be a very attractive chip to many teams.
The Twins front office is in denial that they should be selling.
I would give up Taillon or Heredia to see Willingham in a Pirates uniform.
No way in hell would I give up Taillon or Heredia for Willingham. I like him as an addition, just not for that price. Locke and/or Morris plus another A or AA prospect should be sufficient.
Perkins isn’t going anywhere. He is one of the few players to build around, not trade. You can have Capps if you want a reliever.
We’ve had Gas Can Capps, NO THANKS!!!
J.P Arencibia + Yunel Escobar + Adam Lind for Taillon
It really depends on how desperately the Pirates want that impact bat.
But at the very least, I think you should swap Adam Lind for Edwin Encarnacion in the deal. If the Pirates are serious in competing this year, then they need someone solid, not someone who might be good in the future.
But again, it depends on GM Huntington’s judgment.
I just realized, if the Pirates sign Appel, then Taillon might become expendable.
Terribly shortsighted to give up on one potential stud pitcher because you could just have two stud pitchers. Besides, Pittsburgh can’t afford to trade away it’s young talent. They’re particularly handicapped from building their team through FA acquisitions.
…but when they could have 4 stud pitchers, it becomes a little more possible. Not that I would be in a hurry to move any of them, but it wouldn’t sting as bad if they could get the right player back.
The Braves had twice as much pitching depth than the Pirates have just 1 year ago and now they need a starter. Pitching is never expendable. The Pirates would be crazy to trade Taillon for the hopes of a run this year.
Oh, I’m not suggesting they trade one of these guys away for a rental player this year. I’m not really suggesting they trade one away at all…but the fact that they have that depth is a nice luxury that they have probably never had.
If they could get a guy like Starlin Castro, it might be worth trading away one of the arms. Adding Appel would certainly take away some of the sting and help keep that depth going.
I would prefer Taillon over Appel, but if they all get in the system, I wouldn’t be totally opposed to trading he or Appel. Cole will be off limits though, period. I see him as a fixture in the rotation starting in the middle of next season.
Taillon is pretty much as untouchable as they come along with Gerrit Cole. Even IF!!! by some miracle Appel decides to take Pirates slot money or maybe 500k more over slot, then why would one ever trade away three potential Ace’s just for a chance to contend for a Wildcard? A 81 win season? Not likely. There is far too much potential to have the best staff in baseball.
McDonald
Cole
Taillon
Appel
TBA
That is ofcourse wishful thinking, but potentially a monster threat to the National League for years to come.
To improve the future as well.
hahaah
This is like a bad fantasy trade. Offer a bunch of average/below average players that you don’t want or need for a stud on the other team.
It would similar to the Twins offering the Jays Liriano+Carrol+Doumit for D’arnaud.
It would be nice to see another bat or two added, but then again the Bucs have some chemistry going with who they have. I’d hate to see them lose that over trying to acquire a bat.
That is a solid point as well. They will have to get someone who is a clear upgrade because last year they brought in Ludwick and tried forcing him into the lineup and he was pitiful. Derrek Lee hit well but the season was out of reach by the time he got healthy.
A trade acquisition will get playing time whether he deserves it or not, so I hope they don’t make a trade just for the sake of trading. Difference maker or nothing at all as far as I’m concerned. This is the year to make something happen.
I couldn’t agree more. It was fun watching D Lee putting up them big numbers, but as you said we were fresh out of that 10 game skid, and out of contention. And there was a lot of talk last year about making a trade. It seemed that all the talk might of forced Huntington’s hand in making some kind of trade. It’s great we’re no longer sellers, but it has to be a HUGE return, with minimal loss.
The two best fits for the pirates would be Headley and Josh Willingham. Id really like to know if Headley has played LF or 1B at all. Pedro is hitting too well right now to bump him. A corner outfielder and another catcher are probably the biggest upgrade areas. Pitching may be fixed internally at AAA.
What about Encarnacion? He has some experience at 3B, though he’s not the greatest defender at that position. Also has an average fielding ability at 1B. It should be a good fit right?
“Not the greatest defender” is like saying that Stalin was not the nicest human being.
Encarnacion has earned the nickname “E5” for a reason.
Maybe Pedro could be moved to a different position instead of being sent to the bench.
I like Pedro at 3rd…he has been playing really well there this year and just has an absolute cannon for an arm. Still has his slip-ups here and there, but he is clearly improving. I wouldn’t do anything to mess with his confidence at this point – leave him alone in the lineup and on the field.
I guess. He isn’t better than Headley.
He has played 196 games at LF in the majors, and 1 at 1b. However why would you want put Headley at 1b or LF before Alvarez when Headley is a much better defensive 3b.
The Nationals aren’t really thought of as a team that could be selling offense at the deadline, but LaRoche could be the exception. With the NL weak at 1B, LaRoche is one of the best options available to any team but the Nats feel they have an equally capable guy stuck in LF waiting to take the position. It’s generally accepted among Nationals fans that LaRoche’s option won’t be picked up in 2013. The Pirates have a history with him and have dealt with the Nationals in the past. I don’t think a deal sending the batter back to Pittsburgh would be so unlikely.
seattle and Pittsburgh are great trade partenrs
Who would you see getting dealt? The M’s seem like they have a lot of nice young hitters but not guys that I see them giving up.
Umm if you guys want Headley you will have to give up maor-league ready pitching depth and some other prospects. Byrnes will want alot for Headley knowing that he has 2 years left.Jeff Karstens would probably be in that deal. Hometown kid.
If I were the Pirates, I would not mind giving up a package centered around Jeff Karstens for Chase Headley. Pirates need offense and are looking and the Padres need pitching due to some injuries in the rotation to guys like Luebke and Stauffer. A lot of Pirates fans want Chase Headley, and in my opinion he is a good fit if he is made available this deadline. Like you said, Karstens is a hometown kid who is expendable for the Pirates. Headley fits a need.
Headley will thrive at somewhere other than Petco. Alothough as of late hes been hitting great at Petco he hits better on the road. He could easily be a .300 hitter at PNC with some power. Luebke was a big blow for us and were in deep need of pitching because even our pitching depth is on the DL.I was thinking of guys like Karstens, Leroux, Jeff Locke, Justin Wilson, Rudy Owens, Bryan morris, Etc.(not all of them of course lol.) I wouldnt see them giving up the untouchables like Taillon. Byrnes is trade happy, and can be smart, look at the reds deal.Giving up headley wouldnt hurt us a whole bunch and might finally make byrnes bring up guys like Gyorko and Grandal.
Isn’t Karstens on the DL right now with shoulder inflammation? The last thing the Padres need is another pitcher to go down.
He is, but he will be coming off rather shortly and has been pitching decently in his rehab starts.
Padres won’t touch that. Last thing they need.
He was the Pirates best pitcher last season, and he keeps the ball down. Could be a good fit in a pitcher’s ballpark.
And the best pitchers for the Padres have all been hurt. They won’t even sniff a deal around a question mark player such as Karsten. Noway.
Ok. So what about Justin Wilson or Brian Morris instead?
I would think Owens would be more attractive to the Padres. I don’t see Wilson at all. I could see some interest in Marte with Quentin possibly being dealt, and the Padres not having MLB ready OFr’s to replace him. However, the Padres have interest in bringing Quentin back. I like Morris some, but I don’t see the Padres dealing Headley, who has VERY high value right now for a relief pitcher. As I had stated before, Matt Eddy of Baseball America believed the Padres could get more than by Locke and Hanson trade proposal.
We want Morneau!!!! Get him now and see if we need an outfielder or pitcher at the deadline.
It’s hard to imagine any package being “centered around” Jeff Karstens.
Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen, James McDonald, Taillon, Cole, Heredia, and hopefully Appel will all be part of the next Pirates World Series team. Nobody is getting any of them in any deal. I’m sure Neil Huntington is saying that exact thing to GM’s everywhere.
Encarnacion for Alvarez and Heredia sounds fair. Maybe add someone like Eric Thames or Darren Oliver and a C prospect from Pittsburg
Why would the Pirates trade off Alvarez, he is only a few years removed from college and a number 3 draft pick. Also The Pirates wouldn’t trade off Heredia either, Heredia is only 17 years old and has tremendous potential with a front of the rotation ceiling. People are urging the Pirates to make a move for Encarnacion, however I am not a believer in him just yet. This is a contract year for Encarnacion and just so happens to be having a career year. I am however optimistically cautious, if he can be had for the right price without just being a typical rental player, which is most definitely the case. Even if the Pirates made a move for him, where would he play? Alvarez is already at third, Encarnacion is extremely limited in the outfield and much more so at first. A better fit for the Pirates would be Carlos Quinten. Quinten has the ability to play the corner outfield and give the Pirates a much needed power bat in the lineup. Granted his recent injury history is a cause for concern, however that could be used at our advantage, by not giving up too much to acquire him. Unfortunately with the additional Wildcard playoff system, there will be many suitors in contention, therefore driving the asking price up for Quinten.
Don’t worry, the Pirates would laugh at this.
Who cares where he was drafted? Jeff Clement… yeah the one in Indy… was drafted number 2 in 2005. McCutchen was drafted 11th. I agree that they are hoping that Alvarez picks it up. He has shown signs recently. I could see them getting Youkilis for someone like Tony Sanchez. He has so much potential but is a head case.
Encarnacion actually looks like a marginally average defender at 1st. He also has the versatility to move to 3B in certain situations, such shifting players due to pinch hitting, or an emergency.
But seriously, who is playing 1st base for the Pirates? Casey McGehee? Garrett Jones? I’d easily take Encarnacion over those guys.
If last year’s precedent means anything,
– Beltran was traded for Wheeler
– Pence and $1m was traded for Singleton, Cosart, Zeid, & PTBNL
I acknowledge that EE does not have the same track record as Pence or Beltran. However, one point that drive’s EE value is the fact that this year will feature more buyers and fewer sellers. Simpy for that reason, I think at the very least, EE can grab a B+ prospect.
Now, whether it makes sense for the Pirates to grab EE is another thing. So when all is said and done, it really depends on the GM their plans for THIS season.
The Pirates have already said that any trades made will not be for a 2-3 month rental player. They want someone with years left on their contract. Unless they can make deals like last season were they gave up very little to get Lee and Ludwig. Encarnacion is an average player at best who playing for a contract next year. And he is a downgrade in the field at whatever position they’d put him at. The Pirates wouldn’t give up any of their Top 10 prospects or Alvarez just to get a 3 month rental player.
hahahaha
You treat real life sports as if you’re playing a video game and making trades. Get real
Way too much. You would have to settle for someone like Jeff Locke and/or Brian Morris.
PS The Pirates won’t give up TOny Sanchez, our ONLY C prospect
wrong Wyatt Mathisen is the future, Tony Sanchez won’t be traded because he’s not very good.
Ok so we offer them Sanchez? The BlueJays don’t know he sucks. Don’t the Jays already have the top C prospect so why do they need another?
Taillon is a trade-chip if Appel signs and a useful one at that. Look, I know it is unpopular to suggest but it’s true. This whole thing is more than just about pitching. Great, we have a solid rotation in 2014-2015. But we still have limited options offensively in the farm system. We need some position players to help these guys out in the future. Taillon is a trade-chip that could net us a guy like Lawrie and J.P. Arencibia from Toronto in a great trade package. Headley is good but not worth giving up major talent. Marte is a trade-chip depending on what we are able to get for him. Regardless, a good trade package can be developed that nets us something fantastic to build upon. The goal here is to not bring a club together to win for this one season. Getting guys who will be around for 4 or 5 years is what we need. I think giving up Taillon for that is more than reasonable.
You can scratch Lawrie off your list. He’s not going anywhere. JPA is movable, as is Kelly Johnson, Adam Lind, Eric Thames or Travis Snider.
I’m good with JPA for Locke/Owens and another prospect. And yeah, Lawrie is a longshot but stranger things have happened as we both know.
I might sound crazy, but I think Bautista would be moved before Lawrie. (Though I find it extremely unlikely that either is moved in the near future.)
I hope the Blue Jays trade KJ at the trade deadline.
KJ is not worth the $12.5m qualifying offer as a free agent (unless he tears up the latter half of the season), so the only other way to see any sort of return is to negotiate a contract extension. Honestly, I don’t see KJ being a part of the Blue Jays future, so trade him now and get something worthwhile in return.
I also PRAY that JPA is moved in the near future. His defense is bad, he doesn’t know how to call a game, and is only an okay pitch framer. The offense isn’t even good right now. Maybe he will stay until the end of the season. I just hope that D’arnaud is better.
On the other hand, the other soon-to-be free agent, EE, MIGHT be worth the $12.5m qualifying offer, so that’s a slightly different story.
Headley’s a ton more valuable than a second division starter like Arencibia
Jeff Locke and Alan Hanson for Chase Headley. Book it.
Bad move by the Pirates if they trade Hanson as a good offensive SS is really tough to find.
For what its worth, when I asked Matt Eddy if that proposal would be fair value, here’s what he had to say via his twitter account:
“Padres can aim higher & acquire more advanced or impact talent given Headley’s production & contract status.”
I do think good offensive SS’s at low A aren’t that hard to find. Hanson has been great, but I can’t get too excited about low A guys with that frame. If it brought us a strong bat like Headley I’d make the move.
I agree with Locke who is a MLB ready pitching prospect, but I can not see the Pirates trading off Hanson just yet. Hanson is currently having potentially the best breakout player of the year season, so I doubt the Buccos would part with him just yet. A better fit would be Gorkyz Hernendez, who is another MLB ready prospect.
For what its worth, (as I said above to another poster) when I asked Matt Eddy if that proposal would be
fair value, here’s what he had to say via his twitter account:
“Padres can aim higher & acquire more advanced or impact talent given Headley’s production & contract status.”
I don’t think people realize how valuable Headley is away from Petco park. Then add a bleak third base market/FA market next year at a relativity cheap cost.
The Padres do need potential impact players. However, with their unbelievable injury plagued season I can almost guarantee the Padres going after more pitching.
I just believe that deal works out well for both teams. I would actually prefer one potential impact pitcher or bat. But is there a match? Not so sure.
What team does Matt Eddy work for or ever worked for? The Pirates won’t make a trade that jeopardizes the future for a quick fix today. Cole, Taillon, Heredia and probably Bell and Marte are not going anywhere unless the trade is for a Starlin Castro type player. That’s just a fact. It’s been said repeatedly that Huntiington overvalues his prospects, and as a Pirate fan, I’m okay with that.
Baseball America.
We aren’t going to get value without giving up some value. Locke is a nice piece, but guys like him are throw ins in trades. The luster is off of Gorkys and though he may be MLB ready, he is ready only to be a 4th OFer and defensive replacement. I doubt that Headley, in a time when few players are being sold off is going to net a smaller return than McLouth did. McLouth brought us Morton, Hernandez and Locke with Morton being the key piece. You are suggesting Hernandez and Locke will bring us Headley. I don’t see that.
What the Padres need in exchange for Headley is Pitching..pitching..and more pitching. You can never have enough pitching. look at how bad we need it and all the injuries to the depth we had in the minors. I like Karsten leroux and Locke..maybe even another pitcher.Cabby has been hitting great at shortstop and we can add offense with Grandal and Gyorko.
The Padres have liked what Cabrera has done. But the jury is still out unfortunatly. He’s not a lock, and they’re still thin at SS. The Padres need pitching undoubtedly. I would like to see an impact bat, but as I said above, I don’t know if there’s a match.
If The Padres can keep Quentin, he would rally help the young offensive players like Grandal and Gyorko ease in. That remains to be seen. Can’t aim to have a team made up of entire prospects.
Jeff Locke and Stetson Allie. Take it or leave it.
Horrible Horrible Horrible move, Hanson is going to be a top 100 prospect next year, a middle class man’s Jurickson Profar from last year but not as polished.
He’s still a prospect. I wouldn’t compare him to the best SS prospect in baseball either. He [Hanson] maybe moved to second. Chase Headley away from Petco will be a perennial all-star.
“Chase Headley away from Petco will be a perennial all-star. ”
Can I borrow your crystal ball? I need numbers for the mega lotto this weekend…
Or just use common sense. Check his splits out.
You can have Carlos Lee (of the Astros (just in case you didn’t know) with us paying some great amount of money for Zack Von Rosenberg and a bag of baseballs.
That is still a better return than the Pirates got when trading off Aram to the Cubs for the complete third season of Full House on VHS
Why would the Pirates noy look at Carlos Lee, I think he could be had for pratcually nothing and only for the rest of this yaer?
good point….
Might be wise to hold off a little longer to the deadline anyway…See if Casey McGehee has really bounced back, or if this is just a mini-hot streak. He’s hitting .347/.421/.592 in June. If he and Pedro can keep hitting, they might not need to go overboard for a corner infielder.
If the Pirates are going to pin their hopes on those two, then well, August and September won’t go well.
Pedro has a .899 OPS in June. McGehee has a 1.013 OPS in June. Youkilis has a .557 OPS in June. Headley has a .741 OPS in June. Just saying, it might not be the best move to give away good prospects or spend a boat load of cash on players that might not even be upgrades.
IMO, the Pirates should go after Willingham for Left Field and then when the Dodgers get a First Baseman, the Pirates should go after James Loney for First Base.
I agree Willingham would be a good pick up, but the Pirates have no need for Loney. Loney wouldn’t even be an upgrade over Jones.
Loney has only two Home Runs BUT look WHERE he plays his Home Games and also WHERE he plays some of his Road Games.
It is HARD to hit Home Runs at night at Dodger Stadium.
It is also hard to hit Home Runs at San Diego and San Francisco.
Now, compare THAT to hitting at Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Chicago (when the wind is blowing out). I imagine jsut by chaning from the NL West to the NL Central, Loney’s Home Run totals would increase.
Also, Loney is three years YOUNGER than Garret Jones. Plus, looking at Loney’s career On Base Percentage, as compared to G Jones’s, Loney is better at drawing Walks than Jones even this year when Loney is below his career average (if you believe in things like OBP).
When watching the few Pirates Games that I have, I have noticed that the Pirates are a bunch of free swingers (especially McGehee). The Pirates don’t seem to be too patient and don’t seem to draw too many Walks.
For example, in Thursday Nights game, Presley, Jones, McGehee, Barajas and Harrison had a combined 20 At Bats and saw a total of 62 pitches, or an average of 3.1 pitches per At Bat. The Pirates won the game but didn’t draw a single Walk.
Considering the Pirates are LAST in the NL in Runs, Hits, Doubles, Walks, Total Bases, Batting Average (tied), On Base Percentage and OPS (tied), it would seem like a good idea to get a guy or two who could actually take some pitches and draw a few more Walks.
Both Willingham and Loney do that better than most players on the Pirates team.
The Twins wouldn’t trade Willingham. They JUST signed him this offseason. I know they aren’t contending or anything, but there’s kind of an unwritten rule that you don’t trade a guy during the first year of a multi-year deal. You think the Twins could get anyone else to sign such a deal if that were the case? I know it’s all the same sitting on the couch, but it’s actually quite a hardship to be traded and most guys don’t enjoy it very much.
So,
you are telling me a guy just signs a Free Agent contract and is
playing for a last place team and he WOULDN’T want to get traded to a
team that is in contention?
Let’s look at how the teams Willingham has played on have finished in their respective divisions, shall we?
Florida Marlins –
2004 – Third2005 – Third2006 – Fourth 2007 – Fifth2008 – Third
Washington Nationals –
2009 – Fifth2010 – Fifth
Oakland A’s –
2011 – Third
From the looks of it, Willingham has NEVER played on a team that was
close to making the Play Offs. He might not like it that he just signed
a new contract BUT I think if he had a choice between staying in
Minnesota or going to Pittsburgh, he would change teams (because he is
getting paid either way).
I could see them adding a corner outfielder or a first baseman. Jones and McGehee are actually starting to hit. So is Alvarez. The players are acutally making it hard for them to make a move because they have played so well in June.
What about Jameson Taillon and Colton Cain for Jed Lowrie and Wandy Rodriguez ( With the astros paying a portion of his contract ) ?
I would love Jed Lowrie but I don’t think so. Just don’t wait to see Taillon to be dealt right now. I wonder what they would need to get in a trade for him?
Honestly I wouldn’t be upset if they traded one of him, Appel, or Heredia in the future because as we’ve seen so many times, pitching depth is VERY deceptive. Especially minor league pitching depth. The Braves were supposed to have a whole rotation of studs in the minors but it hasn’t worked out at all. Minor and Delgado aren’t very good right now, Beachy blew out his arm, and excuse my ignorance buy I get confused with Vizciano and Teheran. One of them blew out their arm as well.
It’s not uncommon to see top pitching prospects pitch horribly the next season either like Martin Perez and some of the Orioles and Royals guys as well.
You wouldn’t get Taillon by himself for that package. Taillon is a top prospect in all of baseball, he’s not being traded in all these fantasy baseball trades for these journeymen players.
Stros will hopefully send Carlos lee to the Dodgers. i’d like to see Withrow and another prospect head to Houston.
I’m thinking the best way for bucks in my oppinion would be Tabata,Watson,Correia for Quentin and bass.I don’t know if im to far fetched with bass high era (4.70) but the pirates could then either bring up Justin Wilson or Bryan Morris
Take Mark Reynolds from us for a bag of peanuts. Please? The Pirates can even go green by installing a windmill by home plate when Reynolds is up.
How about Justin Morneau? Makes perfect sense for the dead last place Twins to dump him for some prospects
Marte and Owens for Headley
could see it
why are you giving up on marte with all he has to offer
Could anyone see calling up Jeff Clement as the impact bat we are looking for? I remember his terrible performance in 2010, but he’s been ripping it at AAA.
I could see it, especially since we don’t exactly have a bunch of lefty bats at the major-league level. They’d probably have to send Hague down to bring him up, though.
I would like them to go after:
1B Clint Robinson from KC – For Tabata and a A/AA pitcher
1B CJ Cron from Angels for Justin Wilson and Gorkys Hernandez?
Both of those guys are blocked
Lavarnway, Bogaerts, Youks contract from Bos – for Hanny, Polonco, and Kingman
(I don’t want Youk, but if will facilitate the deal)
Headley for Owens, Grossman, and Zach Von Rosenberg
The Pirates offensive numbers as a whole still look awful because of a terrible April and most of May. However, the Pirates have scored the 4th most runs in baseball during the month of June.
Holding out until the deadline may be the best move. If this production keeps up, then you look to make minor moves like Lee and Ludwick last year. If they regress back to what they were to start the year, then the Bucs will need to decide how much they’re willing to give up (or have fallen out of contention, if the pitching regresses even slightly).
Why are you giving up on Marte. Give them Stetson Allie instead.
Edwin Encarnacion? Having a good year. Not done too much in the past. The Pirates need a bat that can drive in runs with a lot of extra base hits. They were hoping with mcghee that would be the case, and hopefully that will be sooner or later. What the Pirates should be focusing on is a power bat to start in right field because Tabata is not showing any signs of improvement, or someone with a high OBP to play short. I could tell you Alvarez will not be dealt away they have seen signs of greatness and Huntington cannot let that go. They should deal away one of their million minor league prospects or multiple to pick up a bat. They already have a solid staff and enough prospects to fill up for years to come. I would like to see maybe Locke or Owens, the two closest to becoming pro pitchers, to be traded for someone like Carlos Quinten or Josh Willingham. Although this may sound crazy, Ichiro is definitely available for trade. He may want to stay with the “I wanna be a lifelong Mariner” crap but the Mariners are in desperate need of some pitching or a minor league star bat such as Clement or Marte. I want to see how all of this works out. The Pirates always come up with some random scenario that no one would expect.
They had the same problem last year!! Im s Cards fan but if the Cards cant win the division Then I would pull for the pirates!! Cant undrstand y they didnt address it in the off season!!!