This is likely just a blip on the radar until we get any news on Jordy Mercer (which I suspect will be coming shortly), but Jon Morosi tweeted this morning that the Pirates had some interest in Justin Upton.
I still want to mention it for a couple of reasons: one, it backs up my hunch that the Pirates aren’t hugely sold on having Gregory Polanco play right field every day for the remainder of 2015 (the future is a different discussion) and that doing something about right field is their top trade deadline priorty. Second, I don’t know if I totally agree with Morosi’s assertion (from above-linked tweet) that a serious injury to Mercer would re-organize the Pirates’ priorities.
Look at it like this: the biggest problem with putting, say, Brent Morel or Pedro Florimon (I neglected to mention Florimon in my post about Mercer earlier today, but he’s an excellent defensive shortstop that makes him worth considering if Mercer is out for an extended period) into the lineup every day is that they obviously can’t hit. The Pirates can’t support them in a lineup because they already run Polanco, who generally can’t hit, out every day. It’s hard to trade for a replacement there, though, because other teams know they need help in the infield, plus they know Josh Harrison will be back in a month. If they could replace Polanco with a useful bat in the field, the club would have a slightly easier time absorbing Morel or Florimon into the lineup, and they’d be better off for it once they get to full strength.
Anyway, it’s just a thought, and now we’ve got news on Mercer’s injury, so I’m gonna hit publish here and start up a new post.
Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images
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