The team has plenty of time for this as long as they continue to be this bad.Ryan Doumit behind the plate is a very good thing for the Pirates. In 116 games, he hit .318/.357/.501 with 15 HR, 34 2B, and 69 RBI for the Pirates. He seems like he's locked in their behind the plate. Behind him is Ronny Paulino, who struggled after having two solid previous seasons. If the Pirates are in rebuild mode, they could trade Doumit knowing they have an at least decent option in Paulino or possibly Neil Walker. Other than that, the Pirates don't have too many good options in the minors. However, trading Doumit at peak value might solve a few problems.
At first base, Adam LaRoche seems to be there for one more year. They could plausibly non-tender him, but it's hard to deny the 25 HR and 32 2B. He's also a pretty good defensive first baseman. Is he worth $6-7M for the Pirates? Probably not, but the Rangers, A's, Angels, Indians, Royals, Yankees, or Giants may take him off their hands in exchange for a couple prospects. If you're rebuilding, you might as well go for it full bore. Steve Pearce or Neil Walker could be potential replacements in-house.
Freddy Sanchez seems to be the guy at second base yet again. He did okay this season, but his OBP still isn't great, especially if he only hits .270. He's another potential trade guy, but $6.1M is a lot for him, meaning the Pirates would have to eat some of the contract. However, if you want to go into rebuilding mode, then you can probably eat it knowing you'd get one or two decent prospects back. Luis Cruz could probably do as good of a job at second if they did decide to trade Sanchez.
Another LaRoche occupies the hot corner for the Pirates, and it may be hard to imagine seeing him go. Not that he's that irreplaceable, but he's completely lost that "hot prospect" tag. Andy LaRoche hit .152/.227/.232 as a Pirate, and his previous numbers don't suggest he'll get any better. He'll be 26 next year, so it's getting close to "move it or lose it" time for him. Neil Walker might be the next best option here until Pedro Alvarez gets closer to being ready, which really could be the start of 2010.
Shortstop is truly up in the air for the Pirates. It seems they are all but resigned to trade Jack Wilson this offseason, but his $7.25M salary is the main sticking point. Again, the Pirates could eat some of it to get a good prospect in return. Wilson is a decent hitter and plus defender at short. The Rangers, Giants, Royals, or Orioles could be potential suitors. Brian Bixler could be his replacement, but he didn't hit any better than Andy LaRoche.
Outfield is really the only source of optimism on this team. Nate McLouth's breakout season has many teams salivating over trade possibilities. If they could trade him for a top pitching prospect and another decent guy, I might think about trading him, but I'd need something substantial to get that far. Otherwise, I'd keep him and be really happy. Steve Pearce and Brandon Moss seem to be the guys manning the corner spots, but if either LaRoche is traded, Pearce could occupy the spot. Nyger Morgan would take center and McLouth would move to a corner spot. Andrew McCutcheon is another good guy to look for. He could take center, moving McLouth (or if McLouth was traded). Jose Tabata should be along shortly to move someone else.
The rotation could either be really good or really bad next season. Who knows? Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell took huge steps back, and Zach Duke is still really inconsistent. Paul Maholm and Jeff Karstens pitched well, but there are reasons to doubt them as well. However, let's look at their best seasons in the majors. Maholm (3.71 ERA, 206 IP), Snell (3.76, 208 IP), Gorzelanny (3.88 ERA, 201.2 IP), Duke (4.47 ERA, 215.1 IP), and Karstens (4.03, 51.1 IP) could make up a pretty darn good rotation, but there's really no reason to believe they could put it together. Yet, they really could. Snell seems like a popular trade candidate, but they'd be selling kind of low on him. Someone might trade for him based on '07, but I doubt it. Maholm could be traded as well, and he'd be selling at a very high point and would bring back quite a bit. Jimmy Barthmeier and Ross Ohlendorf could also be likely candidates to fill spots.
The bullpen is pretty much a mess, but Matt Capps is a really good start at closer. Again, they could potentially trade him to get some good prospects. I guess it really depends on how soon you see them contending. Regardless, John Grabow, Tyler Yates, Craig Hansen, TJ Beam, Romulo Sanchez, and Phil Dumatrait could fill it out. Other possibilities include Sean Burnett, Evan Meek, and Adam Bernero. Either way, it doesn't look real appetizing here. Grabow could easily see himself in another uniform before next season as I can think of about 16 teams in need of a lefty reliever.
As I said earlier, it really depends on how soon you see this team contending. Next season is way too soon, but is 2010 with Alvarez and Tabata? Probably that too. I think the Pirates should look into trading Doumit, Adam LaRoche, Sanchez, Wilson, McLouth, Maholm, Snell, Grabow, and Capps. That's a lot of players, but I wouldn't trade them unless I got something good back. Don't just trade them to trade them. The Pirates have the money to keep them, but if they're in rebuilding mode, they need to think about turning one good player into two or three. None of these guys, with the exception of McLouth, are franchise guys who'll make a drastic difference for the team, but they'd all be crucial pieces for other teams. Again, if you see contention in the near future, it would be worth keeping the ones affordable for the next few years. Otherwise, trade them and start over. It's worked for the Marlins, right? I have to say, though, that it would be shame to put that team into that beautiful stadium, but they essentially have been for awhile now anyway.
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