A few updates on the shortstop front today:
-The Pirates were never linked to him, and it was only my wish list, but Ryan Theriot was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for Blake Hawksworth.
–Jon Paul Morosi reports that the San Francisco Giants have increased their pursuit of Jason Bartlett, and are one of the most serious suitors for the Tampa Bay shortstop.
-Morosi also mentions that the Minnesota Twins aren’t trying to negotiate an extension with J.J. Hardy, and that this means it’s likely a trade or a one year tender for the shortstop.
-The Padres, Orioles, Pirates, and Giants are the remaining teams looking for a shortstop. The trade market includes Bartlett, Hardy, and Marco Scutaro of the Red Sox. The free agent market includes Miguel Tejada and Orlando Cabrera. It would appear that there are more options than teams interested, although Tejada and Cabrera are on the decline in their careers, I’ve mentioned Bartlett’s declining trends, and Scutaro has struggled on defense the last two years, and his numbers look similar to Bartlett, with a career year at the plate in 2009, and a regression back to the norm in 2010. Hardy would be my top choice of the available shortstops to upgrade the Pirates.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
Trading for Bartlett would be as much of a mistake as moving forward with Cedeno at short. Hardy is probably the best available player, Scutaro would make sense if Doumit went in the opposite direction. Someone blocked at the Major League level may be the best option – like Steven Tolleson of the A’s and Osvaldo Martinez of the Marlins – and potentially Everth Cabrera of the Padres and Eduardo Nunez of the Yankees