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Shortstop Updates

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Hardy is the best option available to upgrade the Pirates at shortstop.

A few updates on the shortstop front today:

-The Pirates were never linked to him, and it was only my wish list, but Ryan Theriot was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for Blake Hawksworth.

Jon Paul Morosi reports that the San Francisco Giants have increased their pursuit of Jason Bartlett, and are one of the most serious suitors for the Tampa Bay shortstop.

-Morosi also mentions that the Minnesota Twins aren’t trying to negotiate an extension with J.J. Hardy, and that this means it’s likely a trade or a one year tender for the shortstop.

-The Padres, Orioles, Pirates, and Giants are the remaining teams looking for a shortstop.  The trade market includes Bartlett, Hardy, and Marco Scutaro of the Red Sox.  The free agent market includes Miguel Tejada and Orlando Cabrera.  It would appear that there are more options than teams interested, although Tejada and Cabrera are on the decline in their careers, I’ve mentioned Bartlett’s declining trends, and Scutaro has struggled on defense the last two years, and his numbers look similar to Bartlett, with a career year at the plate in 2009, and a regression back to the norm in 2010.  Hardy would be my top choice of the available shortstops to upgrade the Pirates.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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