Should The Pittsburgh Pirates Bring Back Sean Rodriguez?

The Pittsburgh Pirates are getting great value from Sean Rodriguez. Should they bring him back for 2017?

Sean Rodriguez’s contract will expire at the end of the season and will enter the free agent market this winter. Rodriguez spent the first seven years of his career with the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 2015 season.

Rodriguez is your classic utility player who gives his manager versatility. If the Pirates were to re-sign Rodriguez, it would be to come off the bench in a similar role that he has had the last two seasons under Clint Hurdle. Rodriguez has made appearances in 97 games this season, playing every position on the field except catcher and pitcher.

Recent Display of Value

Rodriguez showed how valuable he is off the bench this past weekend, with a pinch-hit walk-off home run against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. A trustworthy, versatile bench player in the National League is valuable, as it gives the manager more scenarios to pinch-hit, double switch, as well as opportunities to give other players days off. Rodriguez knows he has to be an aggressive player saying, “When I try to be too passive, that’s when I swing and miss a lot.”

Rodriguez has shown more pop in his bat this season, hitting 11 home runs, compared to only 4 last season. To this date, he has an identical .246 batting average as he did in his first full season with the Pirates. Rodriguez is excelling in mostly every other category, increasing his RBIS, base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, runs, walks, doubles, and WAR. It wouldn’t be any kind of stretch to say that Rodriguez’s second year in Pittsburgh has been a great success

Time to Cash in?

Since he is coming off a great season, Rodriguez and his agent will be looking to cash in. He will be looking for a deal that not only gives him an opportunity to start but one that also supplies security. I’m not sure exactly what the market will be for Rodriguez, but I’m sure most teams can you use a player that can play essentially every position in the field.

The Pirates do have young players coming up through the pipeline. Four of their top six prospects are position players; including the #1 first baseman prospect in baseball Josh Bell, who can be called up any day now. The Pirates seem to be going through a slight rebuild and are looking to fuel their team with young talent. If Rodriguez is looking for a multi-year deal, Pirates upper management may think it just doesn’t add up to keep him around.

I think signing Rodriguez to a two-three year deal would be a good decision for the Pirates. But it’s not far fetched to think that a couple of teams blow Rodriguez away with an offer he can’t refuse. He deserves to take the most money he can get. It is difficult to find a player as versatile as Rodriguez, the Pirates would be foolish to not at least explore that option.

Featued Photo Credit – Daniel Decker Photography