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.
