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Pirates Trade Rumors: Bucs Watch Oakland Athletics; Possibly Scouting Conor Jackson?

Jon Morosi writes that the Pirates were scouting Tuesday night's Oakland Athletics game Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are contenders, and Athletics outfielder Josh Willingham (to whom the Pirates had previously been connected) had been out for a few days with an injury.

So who were the Pirates looking at? First baseman Conor Jackson, to whom the Pirates have also been connected, is one possibility. Someone like lefty reliever Craig Breslow might also make some sense - the A's probably wouldn't mind unloading his salary, and the Pirates could use a lefty.

Let's just hope it isn't Jackson. He hasn't hit in years, and somehow isn't even an upgrade on Lyle Overbay. He does hit lefties a little bit, but only a little - he has a .743 OPS against them this year. Steve Pearce is a far better player at this stage. 

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.