Pirates Facing Important Roster Decisions

Josh Harrison making his case for more playing time.

Through almost a fourth of the season, Clint Hurdle will be forced to earn his paycheck and make some important decisions for the Bucs. While I am not sure how much influence upper management has on his decisions ( I bet it's a whole lot ), Hurdle will still be faced with the tough task of setting the Pirate lineup night in and night out.

At 17-20, I would be lying to say I am pleased, but with the tough schedule they have faced 17 wins is more than most had expected at this point. With the assignment of Alex Presley to Indy and the call-up of Evan Meek, you have to wonder what Hurdle and staff are planning.

On offense, the positions of left field, shortstop and catcher (sort of) are all up for grabs. First base will be a platoon of Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee all season so there is no debate at first. Veterans Clint Barmes and Rod Barajas were offseason acquisitions with the idea of providing steady and average numbers at the SS and C positions.

Neither have lived up to the smallest of expectations, as Barmes is batting .155 and Barajas .188. They have combined for only 4 HRs and 9 runs batted in the entire season. However, Barajas has really come on as of late hitting 6 for 13 (.461 avg) in his last 4 starts. Barajas' spot in the lineup is secure for now as his backup Michael McKenry is only hitting .195 with 2 HR and 2 RBI. Barmes' job is not so safe.

Josh Harrison, a 24 year old utility infielder thus far, has produced decent numbers in the playing time he's been given. Let's not get crazy, Harrison is by no means a ready-made infielder who will make a huge impact. However he is a tremendous effort guy and could provide the spark we are lacking for the time being. He has hit safely in every game with at least four at bats this season.

For the month of May he is hitting 5-14 (.357 Avg) with 1 HR and 6 RBI. With his 14 at bats at May he has driven in the same amount of runs as Barmes has all season. There is no good reason at this point to start Barmes over Harrison, so look for Hurdle to sit down his old buddy from Colorado and go with the young Harrison for the time being.

With Alex Presley's demotion, the Pirates are sending a clear message that left field is open for anyone. Management is sticking to their guns and keeping Starling Marte in AAA to help with his current pitch selection funk. That leaves the Bucs with a plethora of different ways to handle replacing Presley. Against lefties you will most likely see Yamaico Navarro or Nate McClouth in left, though neither player is hitting the ball well at all.

The Pirates also used Josh Harrison in the 8th inning in left last night and are still searching for the right guy in the outfield. Against righties they may use Tabata in left, with Garrett Jones in right and McGehee at first base. They could also go with Jones at first and Nate McClouth in left to get more lefties in the lineup. Either way, you get the picture. From here on out, whoever is playing better baseball will get more playing time ( Sounds like a John Madden Quote but it's true ).

With the pitching staff it's just as tough. AJ Burnett, Erik Bedard and James McDonald are locked in the rotation. With Karstens still out til at least June, Hurdle will have to decide between Charlie Morton, Kevin Correia and Brad Lincoln to round out the final two spots. Morton, at 2-3 with a 4.05 ERA, has pitched much better than Correia (1-4 4.50 ERA) thus far and has much more upside. His spot is safe for now. Brad Lincoln is making an extremely loud case at the number 5 spot. He is 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA through 20.1 innings pitched. He started on Monday in replace of Bedard and threw a sold 6 innings giving up 2 ERs in the process. A former first round pick, his fastball reaches mid 90's and his curveball has looked real sharp this season so far. He has the potential to be the third or fourth guy in the rotation in the coming years and I think Hurdle will give him his shot.

I would hate to be in the shoes of Pirates management right now, as every move they make is widely criticized if it goes wrong. But that's why they get paid the big bucks and it's time to earn your paycheck. It's going to be an interesting few weeks for Bucco Nation.



Posted by Rick Bauer