According to Jayson Stark, the Pittsburgh Pirates are telling teams that they are likely to keep Pedro Alvarez. Stark mentions that the Pirates will likely end their hunt for a first base upgrade, but I’m not sure they wouldn’t still look for help there just because they now plan on keeping him. They were willing to sign Corey Hart to play some first base coming into the season and Alvarez is only hitting .232/.301/.430 and playing well below average defense, so it’s not like he has done anything to prove that he can play there everyday and add value. Plus he has a .454 OPS against left-handed pitchers, so there is still a place/need for a good glove and strong right-handed bat.
It could be that no one was willing to give up much for Alvarez, who is getting paid nearly $6M this year. With just one year left before free agency, and one in which he will receive a raise through arbitration, it wouldn’t be surprising if no one had interest in giving up something of value for him. So it looks like he will stay for now.
#Pirates telling teams they're likely to keep Pedro Alvarez – which would effectively end their hunt for other 1B upgrades
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 27, 2015