Ramirez could steady Pirates infield
In some news that quickly dampens pennant fever, the Pirates are going to be without the left side of their infield through at the least the end of August and perhaps well into September.
Shortstop Jordy Mercer was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday — joining third baseman Josh Harrison — with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and bruised lower left leg.
Mercer is expected to miss six weeks after being injured Sunday when Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez slid into him while breaking up a double play in a loss at Milwaukee that completed a three-game series sweep for the Brewers.
Harrison, who had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb last week, is at least five weeks away with returning.
Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is left with no choice but to quickly make a deal.
Rookie Jung Ho Kang takes over as the starting shortstop with Mercer out. That leaves a big hole at third, though, as Kang had been filling in for Harrison.
The Pirates called up Brent Morel on Monday from Class AAA Indianapolis, where he was hitting .266 with nine home runs in 81 games. He has been hot lately, batting .340 in 12 games this month.
However, Morel is not the answer. He has a .226 lifetime batting average with 13 homers and .600 OPS in 217 major league games.
Utility player Sean Rodriguez isn’t the right guy, either, hitting .209 with three homers and a .558 OPS in 78 games after being acquired from Tampa Bay Rays in an offseason trade. He also has a .211 batting average against right-handed pitchers in his eight-year career.
In an ideal word, the Pirates would trade for a right-handed hitting third baseman who would require little in return is not signed beyond this season.
That player is Milwaukee’s Aramis Ramirez.
At 37, Ramirez says he will retire at the end of the season and is in decline with a .248 batting average, 11 home runs and a .734 OPS in 79 games. However, he showed life over the weekend by going 6-for-9 with a double and a homer.
Ramirez broke into the major leagues as a 19-year-old in 1998 then was handed to the Chicago Cubs in a trade during the 2003 season when the Pirates’ finances were so tenuous that owner Kevin McClatchy ordered general manager Dave Littlefield to cut payroll immediately.
The franchise’s situation is vastly better now and Ramirez coming back to finish his career by helping the Pirates to the postseason for a third straight year would be quite the happy ending.