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Poll: Your Ideal Off-Season

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The Pittsburgh Pirates enter the 2011-2012 off-season with four big needs for the 2012 season.  With Derrek Lee, Paul Maholm, Ronny Cedeno, Ryan Doumit, and Chris Snyder all departing, the Pirates have needs at catcher, first base, shortstop, and the rotation.  I’ve discussed each position individually, along with some free agent options at catcher, shortstop, first base, and the rotation.

I was asked on Twitter yesterday what I would consider a successful off-season.  My response shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who read the above four articles.  I’d take Ramon Hernandez or Rod Barajas at catcher, Clint Barmes at shortstop, Derrek Lee or Carlos Pena at first base, and one of Chris Capuano, Paul Maholm, Erik Bedard, or Jeff Francis in the rotation.  If I had to pick my ideal off-season, it would be Hernandez, Barmes, Lee, and Capuano.

In a perfect world, this list would include someone like Edwin Jackson or Jose Reyes.  I’d rather keep the list realistic, as I don’t think the Pirates will be players for any of those options.  With all of the teams that will be in on those players, the Pirates would have to seriously over-pay to lure one of those top options to Pittsburgh.

We’ve looked at the available free agents.  There’s also a few non-tender and trade candidates that have been floated around.  I’ve listed my preference (which is pretty much limited to the free agents, since there are too many variables to consider with the trade and non-tender markets).  Now it’s your turn.  What would be your ideal off-season for all four positions?  You can pick one option for each position.  You’ll be able to pick “Non-Tender Candidate”, “Trade”, or “Internal Option” for each position, as well as some of the realistic free agent options.  Feel free to expand on your thoughts in the comments.

CATCHER

[polldaddy poll=5647258]

FIRST BASE

[polldaddy poll=5647262]

SHORTSTOP

[polldaddy poll=5647265]

STARTING PITCHER

[polldaddy poll=5647269]

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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