The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the verge of their 16th straight season under .500. Now, I'm not a huge baseball fan, but being from Pittsburgh, this borders on embarrassing.
The Pirates are long overdue for spring cleaning, and a firesale should come shortly after the All-Star break. In light of that situation, the Pirates should get fair market value for some of their players.
1. Xavier Nady
The Pirates cannot wait for his injury problems to go away. However, at this point, he's had a solid season, despite his trips to the DL. They might be able to pawn him off on some AL team in need of a DH. He's an average outfielder, so his frequent injury problems make him a good DH candidate.
2. Jason Bay
It is time to say goodbye and part ways with Bay. The Pirates had hoped he would lead them back into the playoffs, but the pitching and other supporting characters were just never there.
Bay could hit three home runs a game and the Buccos would still lose 5-3. Jason Bay fit the Brian Giles mold very well, so they may be able to get a viable, young starting pitcher.
3. Adam LaRoche
He looked like a good piece of the puzzle two years ago. Now he is just another mediocre contributor in an awful system. Bullpen help and maybe a minor-league prospect is the best that can be expected for LaRoche.
4. Freddy Sanchez
Sanchez would be a great addition to the Rays, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers, strictly as a person to get on base. Sanchez is the best start to manufacture runs in a strong system. The Diamondbacks would be the best option, since they are in the financial cellar and they need something to turn things around.
Once they get some fresh, young players into the system, they may have more success. They still need a marquee starting pitcher. Ian Snell has the potential, but he needs to have a season where he spends no time on the DL. Matt Capps also has the potential to be a great closer as well. They have a solid foundation of quality guys in Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit. They just need the supporting cast.
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2 months ago
A franchise even tougher to find optimism in than the current SF Giants; John, I salute you.
2 months ago
They do need to trade all those guys in a way.. I think Bay could be apart of the solution, but if some team blows them away, then why not?
Nady is a must trade if you ask me.. He is a Boras client and probably won't re-sign and his value is at its highest point.
2 months ago
Of the players on this list I would only trade Nady, and that is only because of his being represented by Boras. I think Bay has to be a part of the solution: He's a very good player and isn't all that expensive. At some point you have to keep quality players.
I am very much up for getting rid of Sanchez, but there is no reason to trade him when he isn't anywhere near his peak value. I think he's very overrated but the way he is playing now no team will give the Pirates anything for him.
I still have faith in LaRoche. That's probably silly of me, but I do. At any rate, the Pirates shouldn't trade him now for the same reason they shouldn't trade Sanchez: He is nowhere near his peak value at the moment.
I would trade Nady, hopefully for a pitching prospect, see if I could get a decent prospect for Grabow, and keep Marte and the two draft picks that will accompany him, as I discussed earlier today.
from 2 months ago
Andrew, I wholeheartedly agree with your comment, and would add one potential trade piece of my own: Jack Wilson. I know that's sacrilege to say in the Pittsburgh area, and I am aware that there are no options within the franchise to replace him. However, he's drawn interest over the past few seasons from contending teams with offense to spare who needed a shortstop. Jack is clearly gifted defensively, but he's not exactly an offensive juggernaut. Last season, Dave Littlefield perhaps made one of the silliest non-trades of his tenure by not swapping Wilson to the Tigers for Jair Jurrjens, who was apparently on the table. This, mind you, was after Littlefield picked up Cesar Itzuris for no apparent reason, who would have served as a fine stopgap for Wilson. This year, the Dodgers are reportedly interested, and their minor league system is fairly well stocked, not to mention that they have a multitude of young players on their major league club. I'd at least dangle Jack and see what he could garner in return.
2 months ago
Good Article!
The way things were going here in NY, some felt that the Mets would try to get Nady back. I have not followed him since he left the Mets, so, his injury problem is news to me. While he was in NY he was very productive. Actually, they only got rid of him because Duaner Sanchez was injured so, the Mets needed a pitcher. Perez has been hot or miss. He's funny, he will pitch lights out against good teams(Yankees, Phillies and Braves) but get knocked around by bad clubs.
However, the Mets are playing better now, so, the Nady talk has decreased. The fact is we still need an outfielder, so, he may be a viable option.
But Jason Bay, if on the trading block, has to be up for consideration also.
I hope Omar Minaya, reads this article.
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