It has been an amazing season for the Pirates indeed. They are currently 44-41 and within arm reach of 1st place. And there is a very strong possibility that they could be in 1st place by the All Star Break.
Right now there is a hot topic on Talk Radio, Message Boards, Twitter, and Blogs and that is that the Pirates needs to trade for a big bat in its lineup.
Aramis Ramirez 3B of the Cubs and Jose Reyes SS of the Mets are just 2 of the names mentioned.
My biggest question to those who are begging for a trade is, who are you willing to give up to make the current lineup better? The Pirates are probably going to have to trade a Brad Lincoln, Alex Presley, or some other Prospects. To think that the Pirates can dump Diaz and Cedeno for Jose Reyes is a bit far fetched. Remember to get talent, the Pirates must give up talent.
Let me be frank, Paul Maholm must be kept and payed the 10M+ he would be owed. People seem to forget that the Pitching is what got the Pirates this far. Trading a P like Maholm for a bat could set the team back instead of helping. There is 0 evidence that P Brad Lincoln step in and the rotation doesn't miss a beat.
On the flip side guys like 3B Josh Harrison, OF Alex Presley, SS Chase d'Anaud has helped put a little gas back on the Pirates offensive gas pedal. Each of those guys will provide depth once LF Jose Tabata and 3B Pedro Alverez returns to the lineup. SS d'Arnaud and OF Alex Presley also has a great chance of starting as well.
Now that leaves us to the the question of; what do we do with OF Matt Diaz, OF Steve Pearce, 1B Lyle Overbay, and SS Ronny Cedeno. To be honest an lineup that looks like this isn't that bad going forward; LF Jose Tabata, CF Andrew McCutchen, RF Alex Presley, 3B Pedro Alverez, SS Chase d'Arnaud, 2B Neal Walker, 1B Garrett Jones, and the Catching platoon of Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder is a solid lineup on the field and at the plate. I just think everyone does need to be patient until the guys return from injury.
I hate to ruin the future of this team just to help with our playoff chances this year. You trade for rental players only when you think you have a great shot of winning the World Series. And honestly, the Pirates aren't there yet.
The Pirates needs to worry about getting these young guys much needed playing time to make the bench that much better. As of right now, we could be having guys like Lyle Overbay, Steve Pearce, and Ryan Doumit coming off the bench in big time Pinch Hitting situations and a kid like Josh Harrison as a Pinch Runner-if need be.
If the Pirates can get a big time bat in the offseason via Free Agency, then hell I'm all for it.
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