Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington was on MLB Network on Monday afternoon and said that the Pirates are working hard to add a left-handed bat to complement Michael Morse and Jason Rogers at first base.
Talking to Chris Russo on High Heat, Huntington was asked about the first base situation and how he would replace the offense from Pedro Alvarez. He said “We are working hard to try to find a left-handed complement(for Morse and Rogers). We may need to get creative or work outside the box, but we would like to add a veteran, professional hitter that’s going to command the zone and work the count and complement the offense. In a perfect world we’d like to add a left-hander there, but we do like Rogers and Morse and we will see where this market takes us.”
Huntington earlier acknowledged that Morse didn’t have the best season in 2015 after doing well in 2014. He also said that Rogers has put up some nice numbers in AA and AAA, but his Major League time is limited, making it sound like they are fallback options to acquiring a better hitter there. Interestingly, Jake Goebbert wasn’t listed as a possible option at first base, so it sounds like he isn’t in the mix, at least as a possible platoon option.
As Tim Williams pointed out earlier today, the Pirates could decide to stall until Josh Bell is ready for Pittsburgh sometime in the summer, as opposed to spending for someone who would block him later this year and beyond. They could go with Morse, Rogers and a veteran lefty bat, sticking with whoever is hot until Bell looks like he is ready to take over the position.
