Most of you will roll your eyes at the title of this post and rightfully so. I certainly would love to see the Pirates make a trade to bolster a line-up with minimal power. The problem that the front office is having, as we all know, is deciding who to trade. Do you trade a part of your present in Paul Maholm who's been a key cog to the Pirates' success despite his 5-9 record? Or maybe you decide to part ways with a part of your present and future in Jose Tabata or Alex Presley? Maybe you let go of your future and one of your golden prospects in Tony Sanchez or Starling Marte?
So instead of making the tough decision, why not ignore the problem and hope it goes away? I promise that this suggestion won't sound as bad by the time you finish reading this (hopefully).
Here are the reasons why:
- The pitching rotation remains the same and that can't be a bad thing.
- The bullpen may actually improve with the return of Evan Meek and Joe Beimel.
- Lyle Overbay, Ronny Cedeno, Garrett Jones, and Matt Diaz all appear to be heating up. Even if the power numbers don't improve much, the averages are getting higher and that's still better than nothing.
- Ryan Doumit and Pedro Alvarez should add some pop to the line-up but, again, even if they don't, they can't hurt offensively. If they play the way we expected they could add 10-15 homers each.
- Jose Tabata just adds another solid bat to the already crowded outfield mix. His return should only make everyone better with a healthy competition for playing time. You will always have three solid options to start in the outfield on any given day.
- Ross Ohlendorf and Brad Lincoln solidify depth in the rotation and maybe the bullpen as well.
As of today rumors swirled around Carlos Pena, Derrek Lee, and Michael Cuddyer. None of them would improve the Pirates especially if Overbay continues to hit the ball the way we thought he would and certainly depending on what we would have to give up.
More names are bound to come out before we hit the end of July, but if the Pirates decide that making no move is the best route to go, I'm on board with that.
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I agree. If the Buccos have to mortgage their future just for the sake of bringing in a big bat or two, I also believe they should stand pat. Their pitching has carried the team this far, maybe riding this season out might not be too bad. We are on the right track now so if we can continue with this success we will be fine now and for the future. I'm on cloud nine just thinking about how successful this season has been already. Keep up the good work boys (and Clint Hurdle)! P.S. A big bat or two wouldn't hurt though lol
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