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Pirates Trade Rumors - Kovacevic: 'Prospect Price High' For Derrek Lee

The Pirates' interest in Orioles first baseman Derrek Lee was first reported by Baseball Prospectus' John Perrotto late Thursday night and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Dejan Kovacevic tweets the team is still interested in him.

have inquired on 1B Derrek Lee. I'm told money no issue, but prospect price high.

Lee isn't worth blue chip prospects. He strikes out a lot and his on-base percentage is pretty low at just .306. If Baltimore is looking for a Rudy Owens level prospect, let alone top-of-the-line guys like Jameson Tallion, Stetson Allie and Starling Marte, the Pirates are probably better off looking elsewhere.

That said, he might be worth a pair of fringe prospects, as he has a very solid track record of second half success. Between 2008-2010, Lee posted a robust .308 avg./.908 OPS after the All-Star break and he's keeping with that trend this season at .321/.972.

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