Buster Olney of ESPN is reporting that the Pirates are looking at a potential trade to bring Oakland A's outfielder Josh Willingham to Pittsburgh. (Buster Olney's Twitter Post)
I'm still trying to figure out why.
Of course, it would be nice if the Pirates added a little power to the line-up. Well look no further than Garrett Jones. Jones' (.240 AVG, 9 HR, 34 RBI, .749 OPS) and Willingham's (.247 AVG, 12 HR, 46 RBI, .761 OPS) numbers are very similar. It doesn't make much sense to pay a guy $6 million to be an average player when you already have someone able to fill the same role immediately for $5.5 million less. Not to mention Jose Tabata will be back shortly and he makes up for his lack of power in almost all other facets of the game.
I can't see any reason to tamper with the team chemistry unless it improves the team. In this case, the only way Willingham improves the team is if he takes Matt Diaz' role as a platoon player and pinch-hitter and the $6 million price tag just isn't worth it.
I hope the Pirates do find a way to improve the team at little cost to the future, but if this move were to happen it would simply be a waste of money. The Pirates, more specifically Clint Hurdle, have been extremely hesitant to hand over a full time starting gig to Garrett Jones. I feel the time is now to embrace Jones and realize that he can be a pivitol part of the Pirates future if they allow him to.
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