Yesterday we saw MLB Trade Rumors list their top 50 free agents, with predictions that the Pittsburgh Pirates would sign Carlos Pena, Ramon Hernandez, and Jeff Francis. Today, Sports Illustrated released a list of their top 50 free agents, noting the best fit for each player. They listed two players as “best fits” for the Pirates.
The first player was Ramon Hernandez, who they had ranked 39th. They also had Rich Harden listed, noting that he might be a low risk, high reward type signing for a team like the Pirates.
I wouldn’t read anything in to two predictions that link the Pirates to Hernandez. It’s simply drawing a line from one of the few teams looking for catching, and connecting it to one of the few top catchers on the market. It is interesting that each outlet predicted that the Pirates would go for a low-risk, high-reward type pitcher, although Harden clearly has a higher ceiling than a guy like Francis.
They had Carlos Pena connected to the Brewers, Derrek Lee connected to the Twins, and Paul Maholm connected to the Red Sox.
