Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The Ghost of K-dro

Just a quick hit here, the Pirates logic was they could not afford to bring back former 1st round pick Pedro Alvarez because they just could not find a position for him in the field, he lacked the range and arm to play 3rd base and the brains and positioning to play 1st. The errors in the field were just too costly to a (supposed) contending team, so they just had to cut bait and non-tendered him before last season, fielding integrity being just so important to this team. (Nothing at all with him being an upcoming free agent who could hit for power and therefore demand extra $$$, nope not that at all, it was all about his defense)

Fast forward to the 1st 19 games of the 2017 season. The Pirates lead Major League baseball with a 19 errors, 1 per game. How much worse could the fielding possibly be with Pedro manning 1st base (or an outfield spot now that Marte is serving out his suspension?)The answer is, it couldn't. You literally cannot do worse than last place in the league in a category and that is where the Pirates are at, rock bottom. Last place in their division. Last place in team errors. And how much better would this lineup look with Pedro's undeniable power in it?

This is not so much about Pedro, the admittedly flawed player. This is about him bringing something to the team that nobody else currently does, a legitimate pure power hitter. You know what he is from his time here: A liability in the field. Too many strikeouts. An average that is only going to be around .250. And, of course, around 25-30 homeruns per 160 games.

That line would most certainly look better from the plate than any combination of Josh Bell, John Jaso, and whatever other scrap heap replacement players they plug in at 1st this year. Look, Pedro wasn't going to be a savior, and there was a reason we dubbed him Kdro early on here. But when he did get hot, he was a legit scary weapon that Jaso never was and Bell likely never will be.

What is actually super frustrating as a fan is that he would have been relatively affordable to keep, but the organizational philosophy is what ended his career here with no return at all on a 1st round investment beyond his arbitrational eligible years. He is currently only making $2M and in AAA in the Orioles organization learning to play the outfield. They see the value in his bat and are trying to make it work out. The Pirates played up his flaws to the fanbase and showed him the door instead of paying to keep him around. They actually non-tendered him and let him go for nothing instead of working to fix him game, finding a spot for him, and reinvesting in him. They plug in cheap bad replacement guys and chug along. It is a formula for continued losing, and that is what we are seeing once again.

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