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Pirates Have Kept in Contact With Clint Barmes

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have kept in contact with Clint Barmes, according to Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette.

The Pirates look to be going with Jordy Mercer as the starting shortstop next year, which makes sense as he posted a 1.4 WAR in about half a season’s worth of plate appearances. His value was driven by his offense at the shortstop position, although his defense was below average. Barmes has the best UZR/150 of any shortstop in the majors over the last three seasons. He would be a great option to pair with Mercer, since he could come in as a late inning defensive replacement, or start when the Pirates have an extreme ground ball pitcher like Charlie Morton on the mound.

Barmes doesn’t do anything offensively, making him an older version of Brendan Ryan. The Yankees recently signed Ryan to a two-year, $5 M deal. The deal pays him $2 M per year, with a mutual option for 2016 at $2 M with a $1 M buyout. Barmes would be worth $2 M a year based on what he has done the previous two years with the Pirates (average value per year: $3.6 M). Even in 2013 when he played a reduced role he was worth $3 M.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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