With winter meetings already underway, the Pirates made some savvy moves by extending Charlie Morton and signing starting pitcher Edinson Volquez to take the spot of former pitcher AJ Burnett. The Pirates Cinderella Season is over now, and a new season will be starting. The Pirates still have some question marks looming over them this upcoming season.
The Pirates are still on the hunt for a first baseman and left-handed reliever. With big names already off the board at first base, the Pirates may want to look into their trade options or minor league systems for some talent. Jerry Sands, who played for the Dodgers and Red Sox professionally, was given to the Pirates in the Hanrahan trade that gave them Mark Melancon and Stolmy Pimentel.
Although he was incapable of making the 40-man roster last year, he may have a shot this year due to the Pirates trouble at first base. Sands, who is 26 years old and has a power bat, could help the Pirates if he can improve and show that he is still major league talent.
Another option the Pirates have at first base is to move Pedro Alvarez to first. Alvarez is a big guy and soon he will be too big to man the hot corner. First base would seem like his calling. Many power hitters in the game today man first base big names like Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, Paul Konerko, and Mike Napoli. Plus, with moving Alvarez to first you would cut down on the errors made at third. Alvarez was the leading third baseman last year with errors, and moving him out of there would provide a better defensive player.
Many players made the transition from a certain position to first base and Alvarez has the intangibles to do so. Also moving Alvarez would give another young player a chance to show what he can do. Players like Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison, and Gregory Polanco (the no. 2 prospect in the Pirates system), can show how they manage to handle third.
Another question mark the Pirates have is relief pitching. Believe it or not, the Pirates are looking for relief pitching and like Bob Walk says, “You can never have enough pitching.” It is hard to believe after the way the Pirates pitched last year out of the bullpen they would still need it, but there is always ways for you to improve. The Pirates are looking preferably for left-handed relief. The two lefties the Pirates have in the bullpen right now are reliable Tony Watson and flame thrower Justin Wilson.
The Pirates signed left-hander Brandon Mann to a minor league deal and he is positioned to come in for big league camp workouts with the team. Mann, who surrendered an ERA of more than five at only the minor league level, is making fans scratch their heads. How can a team go from trying to trade for David Price, to trying to get James Loney, to desperate signing at the minor leagues? Not saying that Searage can’t work his magic from last year, but it would be beneficial for the Pirates to have a big name in their rotation or batting lineup.
With many big names off the Free Agency, it would be nice to see what the Pirates have brewing in their farm system. The feel for next season should be a good one with the Pirates looking like a solid team, and if they can fill the void at first base, they will be a top-notch team this upcoming season