The Pirates have a mild interest in Ryan.

Two updates on the shortstop front from today:

-Jennifer Langosch reports that Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan has drawn "mild interest" from the Pirates.  Ryan is expendable by St. Louis after the Cardinals acquired Ryan Theriot from the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The main appeal Ryan has is his defense.  He has a career 11.4 UZR/150 at the shortstop position.  The downside is that his offensive numbers have been poor.  He has a career .259/.314/.344 line, although his individual seasons have been one of two outcomes.  In 2007 and 2009 he had an OPS in the .740-.752 range.  In 2008 and 2010 his OPS was below .600.

Ryan would be an upgrade defensively at shortstop for the Pirates, although his defensive value could be negated depending on whic...

To continue reading the rest of this article, subscribe to Pirates Prospects. Subscribers get access to every article on the site, along with all of our exclusive live coverage of the Pirates' minor league system, all for a very low monthly or yearly rate.

If you're already a member, you can log in below. If you think you're receiving this message in error, please e-mail tim@piratesprospects.com.