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Pirates Now Likely to Keep Pedro Alvarez

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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.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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