Rob Biertempfel writes that the Pirates are working to make trades to upgrade their roster by the MLB Trade Deadline on Sunday, but they're having trouble finding good trades to make - it's a sellers' market right now.
"The acquisition cost is prohibitive at this time," Huntington said Sunday. "One, you've got to have a player who, if he has a no-trade (clause), wants to come to your city. Two, the other team has to be willing to trade the players you express interest in. Three, you've got to find a match in value. We've run into roadblocks at just about every step of the way."
The Pirates have looked into hitters like Hunter Pence, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Pena, Biertempfel reports, but have had no luck so far. They've also asked about relievers like Koji Uehara and Octavio Dotel, and catchers like Chris Iannetta.
I'd much prefer the Pirates concentrate on hitters. The Bucs' bullpen has performed admirably so far, to the point where, when the Bucs acquired Jason Grilli last week, they had to send down Chris Leroux, who had pitched very well. They could use an extra lefty, but I wouldn't worry too much about it if they can't find one.
Hitting, however! I think the Bucs are probably right to be trying to upgrade at catcher - as fun as Michael McKenry is to watch play, he isn't much of a hitter. I'm not sure Chris Iannetta is the answer, however; he'll post very low batting averages and has hit very poorly this year away from Coors Field.
The clearest path to an upgrade would be at first base, and Carlos Pena is probably the best match. Maybe the price on him will come down.
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