The Pirates have considered acquiring Mike Napoli and/or Shane Victorino, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). Napoli hasn’t been successful at the plate lately but he has been decent defensively, Biertempfel notes.
The Bucs’ interest in Napoli might be a brand new development. Late last week, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that the Red Sox weren’t getting any interest in the struggling first baseman. Napoli has hit just .205/.301/.372 in 335 plate appearances this season, well off the .818 OPS mark he carried through his first two seasons in Boston. If he can rebound, though, he might help the Pirates against lefties while also easing their dependence on Pedro Alvarez, who has struggled defensively in his first season at first base.
Victorino has been injured for much of the past two seasons and has more than $5MM remaining on his 2015 salary. For his part, the 34-year-old says that he hopes to stay in Boston through the end of his contract. The right-handed Victorino would complement Gregory Polanco in right field, although Polanco has played better lately. Victorino could also potentially help the Pirates’ bench, although he hasn’t hit well in either of the last two seasons and has struggled since returning from a calf injury earlier this month. He’s making $13MM this season, after which he’ll be a free agent.
ok. not sure why though.
Why
Probably nothing more than a crumb of a prospect for those two if Boston wants to get rid of their salaries, and they will still have to eat a large portion since Napoli was owed 15M going into this year and has yet to be productive at the plate or on the field.
Prospect? Even partial salary relief would be enough.
No prospect for this, even a small salary relief.. Think what Boston gave the Orioles for De Aza.. Joe Gunkel.. Future 6th-7th inning reliever if everything breaks his way and the Pirates picking up 1-2m tops of what either have coming rest of the way.
Neither have any real value, except for Victorino being gone and JBJ, or Castillo getting called up to play and Napoli being gone and MAYBE Shaw getting a look.
The minute Napoli is gone, Hanley needs to go buy a 1B glove. Hanley has been dreadful this year, and something needs to change. How has he only hit 6 2B..
I was listing actual prospects who could/should get a chance and yeah.. Ramirez, or Sandoval might move to 1b, though think that will be next season. Think Craig will get his last chance when Napoli is moved this season in reality and if he fails? DFA’d.
If the Pirates are willing to give up… anything really, Sox should do it
Take them, please.
Dumpster diving Pirates, as usual.
5.5 up on the Cubbies. And get this… they’ve actually won a World Series in my lifetime.
Sick burn.
So cold it gave freezer burn. Ouch.
Whaaaat?!? They havent?!?! I’ve never ever heard that about the Cubs before! Dear me!
Jorge, did breaking your bat after you struck out hurt?
Last 6 games Naps is batting 381 AVG . 409OBP 667SLG
A couple more games like this and teams might jump at getting him for one of his hot streaks. Actually, It will be his first of this year.
When Vic plays hes solid on both sides. IF he can stay healthy. He would be good for Pittsburg or a team like Houston.
Just get whatever we can for these guys and start playing guys like Castillo, JBJ, etc., and get ready for 2016.
UMM better check to see if the PIrates are hacking the Cardinals Computers. Pirates are interested in the same players the Cardinals are…. Aramis Ramirez and now Mike Napoli. better check it out MLB
Old joke is old.
If the Pirates want Victorino then I don’t see why the Sox wouldn’t give him away…Let Bradley play and hope his AAA numbers carry over.
Sox should take whatever warm bodies they can get for them.
they done one before and worked for Pirates and got their Closer. Maybe throw in one of Boston Bullpeners to.
I can see multiple bodies coming and going with Boston. Like a Napoli and Uehara deal (and cash considerations) for at least a top 30 prospect.
I’d be be on board with that. Naps is pretty much done as far as I’m concerned so if we can get anything for him, it would be best to do so while we still can. Koji is still getting it done, but I can’t see that happening for much longer.
Could be one of those “I’ll give you a decent player, along with this really bad player if you take the salary” type of thing. Pair up a prospect like Bryce Brentz or Sean Coyle with Napoli for a warm body and Antonio Bastardo,
Red Sox, do it. There are positives to trading both. We need to get Castillo ready for next year and bring up Craig. Trading Victorino and Napoli will allow us to do that.
Instincts tell me that Pirates management is putting forward a lot of rumors about potential trade targets, with no significant interest in any of them- a ploy to disguise their real intentions. Gut feeling is that Marlon Byrd will be wearing a Pirates uniform Saturday, once the asking price is lowered, more to Neil Huntington’s liking.
I will carry fat old Nap and the flying Hawaiian on my back down to Pitt if we need to. Take ’em!
Pirates need a first baseman (ie Adam Lind), starting pitcher (ie Ross or Cashner type) and 1 more bullpen arm. If this was 2 years ago, I would of like these players but not this year. Also if the Pirates want an OF why not see what what Francour or Ben Revere would cost? Also I wonder what would Mitch Moreland from Texas would cost in terms of prospects
Moreland is a lefty. Won’t help in the inevitable wild card game vs. Lester or Baumgardner.
Maybe Napoli just needs new scenery and a fresh start. The Pirates have found diamonds in the ruff a lot in the past but it’s usually not a known name like Napoli. I heard flying Hawaiian is a jerk so not sure how that would play in a positive close dugout. Give Napoli a shot though if it won’t cost you much and it helps out both parties. I picked the Wandy trade days before it happened and nobody had that as a rumor. I see them getting Marcel Ozuna from Marlins or Avasail Garcia from White Sox and a reliever. Carter Capps would.look nice in Pirates uni but price is probably too high
No and no. Next…
As a Pirate fan, I love the idea of getting Napoli. Why? He’ll be cheap AND he comes with a .819 OPS vs. lefties this season, his worst season ever. That makes him a much better play than Pedro (.468 OPS vs lefties) or any of the other scrubs we have to play first. This is crucial because assuming we get the wild card, we’ll likely be facing Baumgardner or Lester — both lefties — in a one game playoff. Plus, he’s much better defensively than Pedro, so he could be our primary defensive replacement for him even vs. righties. Hope they do this ASAP.
i seriously hope they don’t go after either on of these guys,if they do then we are going from bad to worse