Pirates non-tender Pedro Alvarez

Wow. That's one word to describe what went down with the local baseball club Wednesday night. The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to let their main power threat, Pedro Alvarez, walk. The Bucs chose to non-tender the big man, and that means that the man who walked up to "Juciy" by Biggie Smalls is likely done as a Pirate. The man who was picked #2 overall in 2008 will probably have to find work elsewhere, and it is too bad. It is a shame that we never got to see "El Toro" blossom into the star that he was thought to be when he was drafted ahead of Buster Posey in that 2008 MLB draft.

While I don't think Alvarez can be classified as a draft bust, he did not live up to his lofty expectations upon entering the organization. While Pedro's hitting often showed flashes of greatness, it was never consistent enough to make him a superstar, and his defense the past two seasons in the Burg was so horrendous that many felt it negated whatever his bat brought to the table. In my mind, Pedro has been one of the more polarizing athletes in Pittsburgh sports over the past five years, and opinions of the man vary depending on who you ask.

I have envisioned for a while that there would be a day when Pedro was no longer a Pittsburgh Pirate, but I always thought that his departure would be via free agency or trade, not the Pirates simply letting him go. But the Pirates did just that late Wednesday night and barring something unusual, the days of El Toro hitting bombs/striking out/making errors in the Steel City are over. 

Just like everything else about Alvarez, opinions are split on his release. Some fans feel that since the Bucs couldn't get a good trade offer for him, the team was right to let him go. Others feel that this decision was a mistake and that Alvarez will haunt the Pirates in the future. While I see where both sides are coming from, I agree more with the latter.

Although it is fair to say that Pedro has not lived up to expectations in his five years with the Pirates, I don't agree with simply letting him walk. Pedro is a guy who, despite a moderate to low batting average, will always have 30+ home run potential and he made great strides this season in getting his batting average up to a respectable number. Yes, Pedro was the worst defensive first baseman in all of baseball, but errors don't always lead to runs. Homeruns, on the other hand, do lead to runs 100% of the time, and for that reason, I think that The Bull's hitting was a bigger asset than his fielding was a liability. 

Alvarez was tied for 10th in all of baseball (tied for 5th among first basemen) in home runs last season with 27. Guys with that type of power don't grow on trees, especially considering that the number of free agents that the Pirates have to choose from at the first base position are, by and large, pathetic. With Korean sensation Byung Ho Park signing with the Twins, the list of legit free agent first basemen is narrowed down to Justin Morneau from the Rockies and Chirs Davis from the Orioles. There is no way that the Pirates will pay for Davis. Morneau is a more realistic option financially, and he did win the NL batting title in 2014, but I don't believe that Morneau can be nearly as effective away from the launching pad that is Coors Field, especially considering that he will be 35 in May. Given that Morneau was underwhelming in his first stint with the Pirates late in the 2013 season, I don't think Neil Huntington is crazy about him either. 

Assuming the Pirates don't make a big trade (Mark Melancon?), the first base job is Michael Morse's to lose, at least until Josh Bell possibly gets called up around June. Morse is by no means awful. In fact, he was putting up huge numbers before being hindered by injuries last season. Morse is much better defensively than Pedro, but how do we know he is not just another Gaby Sanchez?

I also think that it would be foolish for the Pirates to assume that Josh Bell will make an immediate impact in 2016. Sure, the kid has unlimited potential, but how much sense would it make for a team that is now a consistent playoff contender to trust somebody who has never played in an MLB game. At this point, Alvarez is a safer option than either Morse or Bell because we have a better idea of what he will bring to the table.

I am not outraged by the Pirates letting Pedro go, but I am saddened and disappointed. This guy was supposed to become a franchise cornerstone and a superstar in the Steel City, and barring the unexpected, yesterday slammed the door shut on that ever happening. I do think that the Pirates did Alvarez a favor so long as he ends up as a DH in the American League and doesn't have to worry about all of those errors.

The Pirates non-tendering Alvarez was not completely irrational, but I still feel that it was a mistake. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Neil Huntington has something up his sleeve that we don't know about. Maybe the Pirates first base situation will be better off without Pedro in the fold. Time will tell, folks. Time will tell.