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Pittsburgh Pirates Need To Trade Pedro Alvarez This Offseason

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By @Tweets_ByJ

Pedro Alvarez

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Two years ago, Pedro Alvarez was one of the brightest stars on the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ roster. After years of being a streaky player, it looked as if Alvarez had finally figured it out in 2013, tying Paul Goldschmidt for the NL home run title and knocking in 100 runs. But this season, Alvarez relapsed and returned to the streaky player he had been in the past. And for that reason, it is the prime time to trade Alvarez.

Even if Alvarez had another good season in Pittsburgh, he probably would have been traded this offseason anyway. Alvarez only has one more year of arbitration, and that means he will be in for a big raise coming off of a bad season. It also means that Alvarez will probably leave next year anyway. With the Pirates needing to find more money in order to bring back catcher Russell Martin, dumping Alvarez on another team seems like a good way to free up salary. But this only works if the Pirates have a replacement for Alvarez.

Luckily, Pittsburgh does have a replacement on their squad. The emergence of Josh Harrison at third base has made Alvarez expendable. Harrison was a spark plug for the Pirates the entire season and provided much more value than Alvarez. Harrison is also liked much more in Pittsburgh, so the move would most likely be embraced by the fanbase.

The most important reason that Alvarez needs to go is his play on the field. He has historically been a steady glove at third base, but this season he could not throw a ball from third to first to record an out. And at the plate, Alvarez showed little of his power, often racking up strikeouts unless he was thrown fastballs right down the middle. This is something that the Pirates do not need in their lineup if they plan on contending year after year.

Alvarez was a great power threat for the Pirates the last few years, but now it seems like he has hit a wall and needs a change of scenery. He seems to be a good fit as a DH in the AL, and teams like the Boston Red Sox have shown interest in him. With that interest out there, combined with the bad play, big salary and replacement ready to take over, it seems like the perfect storm to trade Alvarez.  He had some good times in Pittsburgh, but it is in both parties’ best interest to move on this offseason.

Justin Broyles is a Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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