Buc Yeah!

The Pittsburgh Pirates, as of this typing, have yet to make a move to bolster their efforts to make the playoffs.

Perhaps there has been real effort by General Manager Neal Huntington to add an outfielder when RF Gregory Polanco went down in Colorado, or to add a 3B to give David Freese more time off, or to add a 2B so that Josh Harrison (who of course exited today’s game) can be moved to 3B and give Freese that much needed rest, or a starting pitcher that would create a domino effect and push Chad Kuhl or Trevor Williams into the bullpen, or maybe Huntington has done nothing but sit back and rub his hands together ala Mr. Burns.

Chances are the truth probably lies somewhere in between.  I am guessing here, obviously, but I believe Huntington has both made calls on players he wants and received calls on players other GMs covet. 

So it comes down this; why hasn’t a move been made?  Has it been the ownership group hindering Huntington’s ability to add salary (despite saving roughly $7 million between the Kang DUI/VISA issues and Marte suspension.)?  Perhaps Huntington has not found a deal where value can be had, or maybe he values prospects more than he should. Maybe other teams are waiting for other trades to happen before moving on to the second-tier type players the Huntington usually sifts through at this time of year. No matter what the reason, a deal has not been made, despite the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, the division’s top teams, making moves to improve.

So where does that leave Huntington less than one day away from the deadline?

Well…I was told a long time ago to never pose a problem without at least two or three solutions, so below are my solutions for Huntington (Neal, if you need my number, you can reach me on twitter @halvybuckets).

So I’m going to give two “solutions” that hopefully will fix multiple holes.

First solution:

Pittsburgh acquires San Diego 2B/3B Yangervis Solarte

Solarte, who was just reactivated by San Diego today, is a 1.1 WAR player this year while make $7.5 million. Solarte, 30, is signed thru next year with two option years after that. He is the type of player Huntington usually talks in code about (years of control, option years that can be declined, plays multiple positions, etc.).

He plays both 2B and 3B (hey, I mentioned those positions previously).  By adding Solarte, you can give Freese time off.  When Freese plays, Solarte can move to 2B and Harrison can slide to RF.  It forces Frazier, Jaso and Osuna to the bench more (which is where they belong).

He has improved his walk/k rate and shown some increasing pop over his brief big league career.  He is a player that can settle in and let Ke’Bryan Hayes develop in the minors or eliminate the need to acquire a future 3B by spending additional resources without signing stop-gaps (by the way, I believe Kang has played his last mlb game).

You add a player that can be plugged into the top six of the lineup and add protection for McCutchen, Marte, Bell, etc., but can also be a threat to create instant offense (something the Pirates players seem to be allergic to this year).

The issue then becomes what would it cost to acquire Solarte…well…I do not have a clue on that.  What I do know is the Pirates are clogged with AAA pitchers that probably qualify more as wild cards and relief pitchers without a clear way to the big club.  With Clay Holmes, Steven Brault, Drew Hutchison, Nick Kingham, etc. the Pirates’s management will have a Rule 5 logjam. There may be an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Second Solution:

Pittsburgh acquires Cincinatti’s RP Drew Storen

Drew Storen has been…well…ok…with a really bad team.  He has built up some value in a year that he needed to build up value.  He’s a free agent at the end of the year, so the cost should not be much, even if he is on a divisional rival.

Here’s where he may be help out the Pirates rotation.  By adding a reliable, non-LeBlanc/Hudson/Watson arm you can take Kuhl or Williams out an inning earlier.  He essentially becomes the 6/7 inning guy, the other inning should really be going to AJ Schugel, imo. 

Here is why ownership should like him…he makes next to nothing for the remainder of the year.  Here is why Huntington should like him…the GM gets to keep his prospects.

So since making moves like these should be as easy as typing them…get it done Neal!