Pirates pitching future looks very bright

[Cannon Shell]

Ethier or Rios would be a huge upgrade though both dont come all that cheap. LA would certainly more or less give Ethier away of the Pirates would pay all of his salary but that won't happen. Even so you'd give up 10% prospect-wise for him or Rios compared to Stanton who seems to always be hurt.

[Duvalier]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Ethier or Rios would be a huge upgrade though both dont come all that cheap. LA would certainly more or less give Ethier away of the Pirates would pay all of his salary but that won't happen. Even so you'd give up 10% prospect-wise for him or Rios compared to Stanton who seems to always be hurt.

Tough to see Huntington and Nutting paying a steep price in salary...though either of the two players mentioned puts them that much closer to a real playoff contender, I'd probably rather go with Rios.

It will be interesting to see how much they believe in Taillon and Polanco, as Taillon is about a year away from likely joining the rotation and Polanco who is still a few years away from making it to Pittsburgh looks like he has a higher ceiling than Marte, who has been great for the Pirates thus far. At this point I don't know how much you can trust Stanton to stay healthy to make the deal worthwhile.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Duvalier

Tough to see Huntington and Nutting paying a steep price in salary...though either of the two players mentioned puts them that much closer to a real playoff contender, I'd probably rather go with Rios.

It will be interesting to see how much they believe in Taillon and Polanco, as Taillon is about a year away from likely joining the rotation and Polanco who is still a few years away from making it to Pittsburgh looks like he has a higher ceiling than Marte, who has been great for the Pirates thus far. At this point I don't know how much you can trust Stanton to stay healthy to make the deal worthwhile.

Miami is in no hurry to trade Stanton because he is under club control for years and its still early in the season so teams aren't desperate enough yet. He is going to probably get in the $7 million a year neighborhood next year in arbitration if he stays relatively healthy so it isnt like the Pirates are gonna get him past this year at 500k. IMO the Pirates should try to acquire 2nd tier vets like Rios and see how much of his salary the Sox will pay to make him go away. LA has to be desperate to dump Ethier with Puig looking so good though for them it is similar to Miami's situation timing-wise as everyone knows when Kemp comes back they dont have enough space for everyone and NOONE is taking Crawford. As other teams fade guys will become available near the deadline and as long as they don't overpay in prospects they should add payroll to make a run at a suspect NL this year. St Louis is solid as are the Reds and the Braves look good but the Nat'ls and Giants are both mediocre, its hard to believe in AZ or Col, the Phils are done and who else is there?

Locke is going to regress to the mean as he is outperforming his best minor league seasons, the bullpen will probably also regress somewhat as they get used more. Their older pitchers are dinged up. They are gonna need more offense and it can be had if they are just willing to pay some salary. Even a Josh Willingham will probably be available and his contract is very favorable at 7 million signed through next season. Morneau may be available as a relatively cheap 1/2 season rental. I don't know if Milwaukee would be a trading partner in division and he would cost a good prospect but Aoki would be a perfect addition to the lineup. Speed and OBP and a decent enough OF, makes peanuts and is old enough not be considered prime prospect. As a leadoff hitter he'd instantly make that lineup better.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Ethier or Rios would be a huge upgrade though both dont come all that cheap. LA would certainly more or less give Ethier away of the Pirates would pay all of his salary but that won't happen. Even so you'd give up 10% prospect-wise for him or Rios compared to Stanton who seems to always be hurt.

We need a right-handed bat in right-field...and Ethier bats left-handed, so he isn't worth it imo.

Travis Snider is a young player without great numbers, but, against right-handed pitching, he's had a lot of good at-bats and hit the ball extremely hard, but a lot of times right at people. He plays good defense for a right fielder, runs the bases well, and I just like him against right-handed pitching.

Snider is useless against left handed pitching, though.

The Pirates have a losing record against Left-Handed starters this year. They're DH'ing a minor league call up Catcher for the 2nd game in a row tonight...because the opposing pitcher for Seattle is Left-Handed.

In my opinion, adding a good right-handed bat in right-field is the best way to upgrade the team.

Our everyday Second-baseman Neil Walker (switch-hitter) is batting .178 with 0 Homers from the right-side this year, but .271 with much better power from the Left.

Our everyday Third baseman Pedro Alvarez is hitting .179 against Left Handed Pitching.

Our best Right Fielder bat in general, Travis Snider is hitting just .111 against Left Handed Pitching.

Our best bat at 1st base in general, Garrett Jones is hitting .083 against Left handed pitching this year, and is just a career .195 against left handed pitching.

Adding Andre Ethier, who is a .222 hitter against left handed pitching, isn't going to address what I see is the biggest flaw this team has.

Love the bullpen, love the starting rotation when healthy, love the line-up against right-handed opposing pitchers. However, the line-up is VERY shaky against Left handed opposing pitchers, and the poor record this year against Lefty Starters proves that out.

[Calzone Lord]

Moorse of Seattle might be a good deadline option. He's a free agent after this year. Career .300 hitter against Left Handed pitching. Rent him. Start him against lefties and every other game him with Snider against righties ...which could keep his old ass fresh and add a great pinch hit option when Snider starts.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Moorse of Seattle might be a good deadline option. He's a free agent after this year. Career .300 hitter against Left Handed pitching. Rent him. Start him against lefties and every other game him with Snider against righties ...which could keep his old ass fresh and add a great pinch hit option when Snider starts.

He is a terrible, terrible defensive OF, one of the worst in the league. Plus he is always hurt. He can hit but hurts immensely in the field.

[Calzone Lord]

Right field is by far the least important defensive position. We already have a great defensive outfield. You can hide a guy out there. Russell Martin, who is number 1 in all of baseball in catcher ERA and hasn't played the outfield since junior college, has been started in right field this year against left handed starters. Have to get a good right handed bat to hide out there some how.

[Duvalier]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Right field is by far the least important defensive position. We already have a great defensive outfield. You can hide a guy out there. Russell Martin, who is number 1 in all of baseball in catcher ERA and hasn't played the outfield since junior college, has been started in right field this year against left handed starters. Have to get a good right handed bat to hide out there some how.

Hopefully they're not thinking that the platoon of Snyder and Tabata will do the rest of the way.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Duvalier

Hopefully they're not thinking that the platoon of Snyder and Tabata will do the rest of the way.

I agree.

It was a good idea at the start of the season...both guys are young, can run, play good defense for RF, and maybe one would break-out.

I like T. Snidely Whiplash a lot against right-handed pitching. He works the counts, he has good at-bats, he usually gets the job done when he has to move runners over, he's been clutch with several timely hits in key spots, and he's been a little unlucky...hitting a lot of balls hard, but right at people.

Still, the offensive stats for him are mediocre. Cannon Shell can make a case with numbers that Ethier is the much better option ... but I feel good about Snider. At age 25 and a former mid 1st round pick, I still feel like he's a threat to get hot with the bat. However, he's a major liability against Lefty's.

Tabata, has the stupidest tattoo I've ever seen... lips on his neck, and can't stay healthy. Even though he hits right-handed, he doesn't get it done against left-handed pitching. He has a lot of annoying at-bats where you curse him, unlike Snider.

Other than right-field ... I don't see an upgrade. I'm fine with the Gabby Sanchez/Garrett Jones platoon at 1st base. We are absolutely set everywhere else.

If the Angels continue to struggle ... what about Mark Trumbo?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Right field is by far the least important defensive position. We already have a great defensive outfield. You can hide a guy out there. Russell Martin, who is number 1 in all of baseball in catcher ERA and hasn't played the outfield since junior college, has been started in right field this year against left handed starters. Have to get a good right handed bat to hide out there some how.

They need a better player regardless

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

We need a right-handed bat in right-field...and Ethier bats left-handed, so he isn't worth it imo.

Travis Snider is a young player without great numbers, but, against right-handed pitching, he's had a lot of good at-bats and hit the ball extremely hard, but a lot of times right at people. He plays good defense for a right fielder, runs the bases well, and I just like him against right-handed pitching.

Snider is useless against left handed pitching, though.

The Pirates have a losing record against Left-Handed starters this year. They're DH'ing a minor league call up Catcher for the 2nd game in a row tonight...because the opposing pitcher for Seattle is Left-Handed.

In my opinion, adding a good right-handed bat in right-field is the best way to upgrade the team.

Our everyday Second-baseman Neil Walker (switch-hitter) is batting .178 with 0 Homers from the right-side this year, but .271 with much better power from the Left.

Our everyday Third baseman Pedro Alvarez is hitting .179 against Left Handed Pitching.

Our best Right Fielder bat in general, Travis Snider is hitting just .111 against Left Handed Pitching.

Our best bat at 1st base in general, Garrett Jones is hitting .083 against Left handed pitching this year, and is just a career .195 against left handed pitching.

Adding Andre Ethier, who is a .222 hitter against left handed pitching, isn't going to address what I see is the biggest flaw this team has.

Love the bullpen, love the starting rotation when healthy, love the line-up against right-handed opposing pitchers. However, the line-up is VERY shaky against Left handed opposing pitchers, and the poor record this year against Lefty Starters proves that out.

When teams aren't willing to spend they have to get what they can get which is why Ethier would be in play if LA is willing to eat money. He may not be great against LHP but he is a major upgrade over Snider who just isnt a starting level caliber player. Plus Ethier can play all 3 OF positions though you wouldn't want to see him in CF too much. Your main competition in the NL is StL, CIN and Atl and those teams have 3 LH starters of the 15 in the rotation one of whom is Paul Maholm who no one is scared of.