Jon Heyman is reporting that Justin Morneau is "drawing interest" from the Pirates, which would not be a good move for the Pirates. Morneau has a batting line of .262/.323/.393 in 374 at bats this year, with eight home runs and a .716 OPS.
Morneau would be a rental for the Pirates, as his six year deal that began in 2008 comes to an end after this season, and he will become a free agent. With his contract status (he is making $14 million this year) and lack of production, Morneau should not cost much at all from a prospect status, but there is really no reason for the Pirates to make a deal for him. Morneau's OPS+ of 96 is lower than both Garrett Jones's (107) and Gaby Sanchez's (118), so he would not be an upgrade at the position offensively. He also wouldn't help the team much defensively, as his defense has regressed over the past few years.
Morneau is in his age 32 season, so he is past his prime and there are no indications that he will improve upon his current numbers. He has a .561 OPS in his last eleven games, and has really struggled against left handed pitchers, with a .620 OPS against them in 113 at bats this year. He's also not getting unlucky, as his .301 Batting Average on Balls In Play this year is actually higher than his career number of .294.
A deal for Morneau wouldn't make much sense for the Pirates, and any deal they make should be for an upgrade in right field, where they really don't have an answer outside of Alex Presley at this point. The Pirates are interested in two of the Cubs' outfielders in Nate Schierholtz and David DeJesus. I would prefer Schierholtz out of those two, as he is cheaper and is providing more offensive production.
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