Pirates Urged To Add Proven Bats This Offseason
It's no secret where the Pittsburgh Pirates need to improve going into next season.
If Pittsburgh is going to snap its nine-year streak of missing the playoffs, it has to take major strides at the plate. The Pirates ranked in the bottom 10 in nearly every major hitting category last season, which included scoring the sixth-fewest runs per game and hitting the sixth-fewest home runs last season.
With such a glaring need, MLB.com's Mike Petriello urged the Pirates to go and sign a big bat or trade for one this offseason, especially given where their starting rotation stands heading into next season.
"They don’t have a first baseman, or a middle infield, or a right fielder, or a good-enough DH," Petriello wrote. "This roster is screaming for a free agent like [Pete] Alonso or Teoscar Hernández, or a rebound trade for a Bichette or Luis Robert Jr. type, plus bullpen help. With this young rotation, the time is now."
Alonso or Hernández would be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Pirates. Both players hit over 30 home runs and drove in over 85 runs last season. Neither of them has hit less than 25 home runs or drove in less than 75 runs in the last four seasons. First baseman Christian Walker would also fit the bill for Pittsburgh.
While going full-court press at either of them would make a world of sense for Pittsburgh, it would stray far from its usual approach to free agency. The Pirates have been notorious for not spending much money in free agency, and even if they might be inclined to spend more money than usual this year, Hernández and Alonso are more than likely out of their price range barring a huge shift in philosophy.
The largest contract the Pirates have signed a free agent to is left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano in 2014, who they signed to a three-year, $39 million deal. Hernández, Alonso and most of the top hitters in free agency will blow that number out of the water.
Straying from the norm is what it'll likely take for the Pirates to add impact bats this offseason to improve next year. If they add a hitter of Hernández, Alonso or Walker's caliber, it'd go a long way toward showing they're serious about building a contender in Pittsburgh.
