I’m going to start off by saying that the only option I think the Pirates should consider is Pedro Alvarez. I realize a lot of people do not feel the same way, but Pedro is still a key player in the Pirates’ hopes to be contender. Also, the Pirates don’t really have any other players that are capable of starting at this point. There can be an argument made for Josh Harrison, but the fact is that a .272 average doesn’t mean anything when your on-base percentage is .281. Harrison is a decent hitter, but he has very little power and no patience at the plate. He doesn’t strike out very often, but he only walked three times in 204 plate appearances in the majors this year. Josh Harrison is a good player to have on the bench, but he is not ready to start in the majors. Some other internal options the Pirates have that have played third are Steve Pearce, Brandon Wood, Chase D’arnaud, and Matt Hague. Pearce and Wood are likely to be non-tendered, so that leaves D’arnaud and Hague. At the major league level, D’arnaud really struggled, posting a .217/.242/.287 line with a .528 OPS, and was a terrible fielder. He also mainly plays shortstop, so he is definitely not an option to start at third on opening day. Matt Hague has played almost exclusively at first for the past three years in the minors, but he was drafted out of college as a third baseman. He’s a good hitter, but as I said in the segment about first baseman, his ultimate upside as a hitter is similar to that of Lyle Overbay in his prime. The Pirates would love to have that next year, but it is very unlikely that Hague will realize his potential as a rookie. However, for him to even be in consideration for a roster spot next year, Hague will have to work on his versatility. A one position bench player is just wasting a roster spot, so Hague will have to work on his ability to play third.
Looking at the potential free agent market for third baseman, the only options that would be reasonable are Edwin Encarnacion and Aramis Ramirez. The Blue Jays have a $3.5 M option on Encarnacion, which I would imagine they’d exercise. Ramirez put up a .871 OPS this year for the Cubs, who have a $16 M option on him. However, he can void this deal, and some reports have said that he doesn’t want to return to Chicago. It may be a good idea for the Pirates to publicly pursue Ramirez like they did with Jorge De La Rosa and Adrian Beltre last off-season, even if they don’t have any real intentions of signing him. This would give the fan base the feeling that the Pirates are willing to spend (which they are), and it would only help that he was a former fan favorite in Pittsburgh. But, it is very unlikely that Ramirez would welcome a return to Pittsburgh, so don’t get your hopes up.
So, back to Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez had a terrible year at the plate, hitting under .200 with only four homers in 235 at bats. Since I was just talking about Aramis Ramirez, I would like to mention that in his second season with over 200 at bats in 2000, he struggled as well, with a .256 average and only six home runs in 254 at bats. In the year that followed, he hit for a .300 average and 34 home runs. Alvarez did struggle more than Ramirez did, but they had similar seasons. I’m not saying that Alvarez is going to have the same success in 2012 that Ramirez had in 2001, I’m just saying that there is a good chance he can break out of this and have a good year, so don’t lose faith in him.
Pedro Alvarez is definitely the best option the Pirates have at third base heading into 2012 and the future, and it would be a bad decision not to give him the chance to start everyday next season.
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