Clint Barmes has signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres, according to Ken Rosenthal.
Source: #Padres in agreement with IF Clint Barmes on one-year deal with club option. Pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 3, 2014
The writing was on the wall this off-season that Barmes wouldn’t be returning to the Pirates. They had been acquiring a lot of infield depth options, including a few players who can play shortstop. It appears that they will go with someone who is making the league minimum to replace Barmes. I don’t know if that’s the reason they’re moving away from Barmes. They’ve added two interesting options to be a strong defensive shortstop, with Pedro Florimon coming on a waiver claim, and Gustavo Nunez signed as a minor league free agent.
Jordy Mercer is the starter, and has improved his defense over the last year. The Pirates will still need at least one strong defensive shortstop in the system, and possibly more, if Mercer goes down, to avoid another Michael Martinez situation from last year.