Ronny Cedeno Worthy Of $3 Million Option

Over at Bucs Dugout, I argue that Ronny Cedeno is the Pirates' most underrated player. Cedeno isn't exactly a favorite of most Pirates fans, but his solid defense at shortstop make him worthy of a starting job.

We've heard rumblings over the last month that the Pirates might not even pick up Cedeno's $3 million option next year which, frankly, is insanity - not only is Cedeno well worth that relatively meager salary, but there won't be many good options in free agency either, and it isn't as if the Pirates have a good internal option. Chase D'Arnaud has played poorly at the big-league level this year, Class AAA prospect Jordy Mercer hasn't yet shown he can make enough contact to be a good major-leaguer, and major-league bench player Brandon Wood doesn't have anything going for him except a bit of raw power.

Other candidates I considered for the Pirates' most underrated player were Ryan Doumit (who has hit brilliantly for a catcher this year, and has gotten very little credit for it) and Chris Leroux (who has pitched very well down the stretch, and no one has noticed because the rest of the team has played so badly).