It’s bargain-shopping time for Pirates
The time has come for bargain shopping on the free agent market with the start of spring training less than two weeks away.
And nobody likes finding bargains quite like the Pirates.
While the Pirates don鈥檛 have any major holes to fill in their lineup or rotation, they could use pitching depth and bench help. There are still unsigned players who should have low enough price tags to fit the Pirates鈥� thrifty ways and provide a boost to a team looking to get back to the postseason for a fourth straight year in 2016.
The Pirates need a fourth outfielder and left-handed bench bat. Two players who would ably fill both roles are David Murphy and Will Venable.
Murphy, 34, hit .283 with 10 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .739 OPS in 361 at-bats with the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels last season. Venable, 33, split time between the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers in 2015, batting .244 with six homers, 16 stolen bases and a .670 OPS in 349 at-bats.
If the Pirates want to take a gamble on a player who might have a little upside, Grady Sizemore could be worth a shot on a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to major league spring training.
Sizemore is now 33 and he played in the last of his three All-Star Games in 2008 as injuries took away the prime of his career. However, he did hit .253 with six homers and a .688 OPS in a combined 273 at-bats with the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays last season.
Infielder/outfielder Skip Schumaker also might be worth a non-roster invite as a potential left-handed bench bat, though he is 36 and had an anemic .242 batting average with one home run and a .642 OPS in 244 at-bats in 2015 for the Cincinnati Reds.
Considering Pedro Florimon stands to be the second utility infielder with Sean Rodriguez as things shape up now, it couldn鈥檛 hurt to take a look at Schumaker.
If the Pirates want to think a bit outside the box for a utility infielder, veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins is still on the market. If the 37-year-old is willing to take a bench role after 17 seasons as a regular, the switch-hitter would be a good fit and be a quality fill-in for starting shortstop Jordy Mercer.
Rollins batted just .224 for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season with a .643 OPS in 517 at-bats but did pop 13 home runs.
The Pirates could also use a second left-handed reliever in the bullpen to complement Tony Watson and also free up Kyle Lobstein, who was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Tigers in December, to work in the rotation at Class AAA Indianapolis and provide much-needed starting depth.
The best lefty on the market remains Neal Cotts, who was a combined 3.41 ERA in 63 1/3 innings with the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins last season with 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.26 WHIP.