Top 5 Offseason Team Needs For the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates lost a lot of games early in the year because of bad pitching from the back of the bullpen. If the Pirates could have won at least one of those games, they may have been able to win the division. So, one of the Pirates' top priorities this offseason should be to find a reliable seventh-inning reliever who can step in to give Mark Melancon and Tony Watson a day off if needed.

The Pirates have gone a few years now trying to make a platoon at first base work. The experiment was pitiful this year with Ike Davis and Gaby Sanchez putting up mediocre numbers. This is the year the Pirates need to add a first baseman that can play everyday and take the job as his own; at least until a long-term solution makes it to the majors.

The Pirates are in desperate need of a power hitter in their lineup with Pedro Alvarez not producing and possibly moving to a new team this winter. The offense wasn't a problem at all for the Pirates this season, especially the long ball, but there is no guy in the lineup that is a threat to hit a homer every time he's at the plate. The Pirates should kill two birds with one stone and add a first baseman power hitter to hit cleanup.

As of now, the Pirates' rotation features Gerrit Cole, Jeff Locke, Vance Worley and two open spots (if those guys are locks for the rotation). Charlie Morton should help fix that problem when he returns from his injury next season, but that still leaves some holes. The team needs to do its best to re-sign Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano, or at least try to find their next reclamation project that will carry them through the 2015 season.

The biggest need the Pirates have to deal with this offseason is at catcher. The team needs to extend Russell Martin badly, but if they fail in their attempts, they need to find a replacement fast. Tony Sanchez has not lived up to his potential and Chris Stewart is a below-average catcher. The Pirates have no other replacements, so if they lose Martin, catcher has to be addressed quickly this offseason.