For all the fans of Alvarez, don't buy a jersey just yet.  When Delwyn Young was cut, he also abandoned the number 24.  I expected Alvarez, a fan of that number, to pick it up.  It appears he didn't disappoint.  On the Pirates 40-man roster it shows Alvarez is sporting a Bonds-esque 24.

I love this news, as 17 was a strange number to see in my opinion.  Can anyone confirm that there was a number change?  I haven't seen this news anywhere, but kind of just stumbled onto it.

So apparently the D'Backs are listening to offers for the 23 year old star.  It would take a HUGE offer to get Upton, but at the same time, it could be worth it.  Upton could fit perfectly into our lineup in the 3-spot, and is young enough to be part of the core group of players.  Walker, Tabata, McCutchen, Alvarez, Upton, and Rendon would make a great lineup, and all of them are still under 25 years old.

But as I salivate over the addition of a player this talented, I also have to wonder what it would take to get him.  What do you think it would take?  He has 5yr/50mil left on his contract, so this is not a rental, but also not too cheap either.

I was reading MLBTR, and I saw that the Angels might want to get rid of Mike Napoli.  This is all speculation, on their part, but I still was interested enough to look at his stats.  First off, his defense is almost exactly average at 1B.  Being a catcher first, he might be able to improve at first, if we put him there for a full season.  So defense aside, what is most important is his offense.  He struggles against righties, and has torn up lefties throughout his career.  For his career, he is a .299/.401/.561 hitter against LHP, and this season he is batting .339/.429/.645 against them.

If Napoli played against lefties, and Jones played against righties (with Napoli getting an occasional start at catcher, if needed), would he be a good trade target, or am I missing something?

It might be strange, if we keep Doumit, to have a catcher playing 1st, 2nd, and RF, but I think Napoli would be the best choice to platoon with GFJ. 

Alright, we're the worst team in the MLB.  We probably won't be contending next year, but that doesn't mean we can't set ourselves up for 2012.  Via trade or free agency, who would you like the Pirates to go after?  For me, I'd like to see:

Magglio Ordonez (FA): He might not be the best player out there, but he will put up numbers near .300/.375/.460, and would certainly solidify our OF along with Tabata and McCutchen.

Billy Butler (Trade): Butler's name has been mentioned in trade rumors recently, due to Moustakas, Ka'aihue, and Hosmer.  He wouldn't take too much to pry away from the Royals, and Butler would take the starting job at first, but Jones could spell Butler and Magglio, and avoid LHP.

Matt Garza/James Shields (Trade):  Although the Rays asking price for one of these starters would be high, our rotation needs a good #2 starter like either Garza or Shields.

Brandon Webb (FA):  Is this the same Brandon Webb as before?  I don't know.  But for a small cost, we would have a chance at getting a cheap, #1 starter.  It could be a steal, or a waste of money, but it's a risk worth taking.

My Wishlist would add roughly $20-25MM to the payroll, which would put us at about $60MM if we non-tender Duke, and trade Doumit.

I haven't been watching too many Pirates games recently, and have been demoted to ESPN highlights, but I had no idea that Jose Tabata was on fire.  Am I alone here, or is anyone else surprised that in the last 28 days, Jose is batting .387/.406/.495?  That's unbelievable.  What is a realistic projection for Jose next year?  I doubt that he could hit .380, but would .330 be out of the question?

Also, I was expecting a top prospect or two to fail.  Outside of Andy LaRoche and Brad Lincoln (who I didn't see as a big piece anyways), all of our real prospects have done well, and we even recovered Neil Walker.  Is this just karma catching up to us after Hermansen/Bullington/JVB/Sean Burnett?  Or are we developing our prospects extremely well?

The Miami Heat have 3 players left on their team from last year.  They have enough cap room for D-Wade, LeBron, and almost one more maximum contract.

This leaves the question, why haven't the Pirates done something similar?  The Marlins (also in Miami) blow up their entire team every so often, and they rebuild around a select few players.  They give young players a chance to show what they can be, and in just a few years, they can be ready to buy a few free agents, and compete.

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In just 16 days, it will be time for the draft.  As a huge fan of the draft, I have decided to put together my own personal top 25 (with one extra) for this year.  We could be in position to land 2 or more of these players, if a few fall to the second round.  Whatever happens, this is my list:

1- Bryce Harper, C: Tremendous power, great arm, could move to outfield down the road.

2- Manny Machado, SS: Should hit for average, decent average, great defense, could outgrow position. 

3- Jameson Taillon, RHP: Hits 98mph, great curveball, ace potential.

4- Karsten Whitson, RHP: Hits 95mph, polished pitcher with ace potential, but mechanics aren't great.

5- Drew Pomeranz, LHP: Low-mid 90s fastball, solid control, great curveball.

6- Zach Cox, 3B: Hard worker, great offensive potential with average/power, strikeouts could be a problem.

7- Chris Sale, LHP: Big lefty, low to mid 90s fastball, terrific control, mechanics could lead to injury.

8- Josh Sale, OF: Excellent bat speed, patient hitter with great power potential.

9- AJ Cole, RHP: Touches 96mph, should develop changeup and curveball, #1-2 starter

10- Christian Colon, SS: Good bat, good power, but he's most likely a 2B in the majors.

11- Bryce Brentz, OF: Excellent power, doesn't face top competition, Ks too much, has great ceiling.

12- Stetson Allie, RHP: Mid 90s fastball, hits 99mph, needs to improve control, could end up as closer.

13- Michael Choice, OF: Great raw power, hits for average, solid speed.

14- Deck McGuire, RHP: Throws low to mid-90s, good command, solid curveball and changeup.

15- Austin Wilson, OF: Toolsy outfielder, great power potential, needs better pitch recognition.

16- Brandon Workman, RHP:  low-mid 90s fastball, needs better changeup, inconsistent delivery.

17- Kris Bryant, 3B: Couls end up in OF or 1B, but excellent power, potential middle of lineup bat.

18- LeVon Washington, OF: Good hitter, decent power, not best instincts in field, decent arm at best.

19- Nick Castellanos, 3B: Good fielder at 3B, decent power potential, middle of order bat.

20- Justin O'Conner, SS: Good bat speed, should stick at SS, great arm.

21- Matt Harvey, RHP: Excellent stuff, needs to improve control, has a high ceiling.

22- James Paxton, LHP: Mid-high 90s fastball, great slider, needs to develop changeup, decent control.

23- Yordy Cabrera, SS: Good hitter, probably won't stick at shortstop long-term.

24- DeAndre Smelter, RHP: Low 90s fastball, good changeup, good slider, good control.

25- Jarret Parker, OF: Good athlete, decent power potential, nice swing, very projectable.

26- Kyle Blair, RHP: Low 90s fastball, good curve, average changeup, solid command, mid-rotation starter.

What do you think?  Anyone I missed?  Should rankings be changed?

Let's say the Pirates stay near .500 all season, and finish the season at about 76 wins.  Going into the off-season, NH decides that in 2011, we're going for the pennant.  So he decides to add one key piece to the team, either through trade or free agency.  If you elect to trade, keep the trades reasonable, and trade for a player who could be available (not something like Karstens for Lincecum).  If you are using free agency, you can sign 1 player, and you have an unlimited amount to spend.

Do you prioritize getting the ace, or would a power bat or shortstop be best?  For a list of upcoming free agents, refer here.  I can't help you out with trade candidates, but I'm sure you can think of a few good names.

Starlin Castro was promoted today.  I, for one, think that the Cubs were worried about their team after that last series.  I think the Cubs will regret this decision, because if they wait another 2 weeks, he wouldn't get super-two status, but moves like this make me happy as a Pirates fan.  Not only did we sweep the Cubs, and make them feel as if they needed to make this move, but we also damaged their pockets in the future.  It's funny how a series that seemed so meaningless can become such a big thing.

Also, if anyone has an opinion on Castro as a player, I'd love to hear it.  The Cubbies always seem to have their top prospects fail, and I am unsure of what to think about Castro.  This is especially so with him being rushed from AA to the MLB as a 20-year old.

Facing the Manatees today, top prospect Pedro Alvarez went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI.  If he hits like this throughout spring training, do we dare start him on Opening Day?  He is definitely capable of starting, but do financial issues outweigh the team's devotion to winning a few more ballgames?

Consider this: If Alvarez starts the year in the MLB, we will potentially lose a whole year of his service time.  If we hold him down for 2 months, we get that extra year (hopefully we will be competitive then).  Then again, who says that we can't sign him to an extension like the Rays did with Evan Longoria?  And who says that Pedro will leave after his current contract expires with the Pirates?  Down in Bradenton, tough decisions are looming.

Yeah, I know most of you are probably sick of all the Rays comparisons.  But if you do plan to read this, I promise I'll try my best to make more sense than the ESPN comparisons.  I'd think ESPN would realize that teams don't instantly become playoff contenders... but anyways, the post is after the break.

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A few weeks from now, Pittsburghers will be angered, threatening to stop going to games, using the old "revolving door" cliche, and complaining about how the Pirates once again traded away their best players.  To prepare a few people for that day, I want to give a little preview for the July 31st deadline.

Let me start with the obvious:

Adam LaRoche- Adam will most likely be traded for a couple prospects, if you look at John Sickels Team by Team "Top 20 Prospects for 2009", I believe that the grades of the guys we get for LaRoche will be C+.  To most Pirate fans, getting rid of LaRoche would seem like a good thing.  We would get rid of a guy who is arguably the least clutch player on the team, and get Steve Pearce and Garrett Jones some major league at bats.

Jack Wilson- Although there are no obvious replacements for Jack, getting rid of him is probably best for the team.  Jack has been critical of management for the past year now, saying trades never work and that management promised him a winning club (he says a lot of stupid things).  Jack has probably made management angry, because fans listen to Jack more than they listen to them and everything he says (although it's wrong) has a negative impact on them.  I doubt we would get anybody great for Jack, but getting him away from young guys like Andy LaRoche and Andrew McCutchen might benefit the team in the future.

Now on to the less obvious:

Freddy Sanchez- Freddy is a 31 year old with a great bat, and a decent glove.  Teams who we know that have shown interest are the Giants and (possibly) the Twins.  I believe there is a huge market for Sanchez, especially now with DeRosa off the block.  Sanchez is the best 2nd baseman available, unless the Marlins drop out of contention and Uggla is available.  What Freddy would bring back is something fairly similar to the McLouth deal, though probably not as good.  Look for a B level guy, along with a C+ or two.

Ryan Doumit- Last season, Doumit showed how great he was with the bat.  Although he is relatively young, he is probably not the catcher of the future, due to injury problems, the #4 pick of Tony Sanchez, and the fabulous play of JJ and Diaz.  There are plenty of team looking for a catcher, the Yankees could get him to split time with Posada, play DH, and be there for the future.  The Red Sox could do the same.  Doumit might be able to fetch us a top pitching prospect, like V-Mart has been rumored to fetch, though probably not a Clay Buchholz type.

And finally, the least obvious.

I'm gonna combine the two of them:  Zach Duke and Paul Maholm- With many of the top pitchers on the block getting hurt, the Pirates can get some real good pieces for Duke or Maholm.  Although neither are front-line starters, they could possibly be the top pitchers moved this year.  They could easily get us some top tier prospects, due to their contracts and their age.  The two may be young, but they might be a little too old to build around.

If the Pirates want to, they can control the trade market this year, and add some great players to their rapidly improving farm system.