The thought or idea of Jack Wilson being traded has been going on and off for the better part of 2 or 3 years every trade deadline and summer. With the notion that upper management has been giving everyone this year is that, building for the future and acquiring more and more depth in the system is much more important than winning this year and even next.
Most likely place for Jack Wilson:
Boston:
The Red Sox to me seems like the most obvious place for Jack Flash to end up by the end of the year. When you look at their roster there have been two things that they have needed this year that is holding them back from being the elite team in the AL, and that is a Shortstop and David Ortiz struggling. We can help solve these problems with a trade that would benefit both squads by packaging Adam LaRoche with Jack. Everyone knows LaRoche is a notriously slow starter, but for this trade to become possible, he has to be able to show people that he is going to get back to his usual July, August, and September.
What we would get:
With the fact that there is not a suitable major league shortstop waiting in the wings in any part of the minors, it would be nice to pick up a shortstop ready to step in and fill the void Jack would leave but I do not see that happening. The Sox are not going to want to part with their short stop of the future, Nick Green, and the Pirates in no way are going to want to take Julio Lugo by any means. With that being the case, the Bucs will build the farm system, espicially AA with the additions of 22 year old SS Argenis Diaz. Diaz is an above average defensive infielder, much like
Jack but with some speed but with little to no pop in his bat. In almost 1500 at-bats he has a whopping 6 home runs. Hopefully we would also be able to pick up another pitching prospect, hopefully a Daniel Bard or Michael Bowden, but that is unlikely and look for the Pirates to acquire Charlie Zink, a knuckleballer; or the 6'4 lefty Kris Johnson.
Jack became my favorite Pirate soon after he dawned the black & gold. I even had a Wilson #12 jersey back in the day. Needless to say, I don't want to see him go. Last Sunday, I had my picture taken with Jack during the meet the players session before the game. I couldn't help but think that he could be gone in a month or so.
ReplyDeleteSince the Bucs have such a young pitching staff, Jack's defense up the middle is extremely valuable. I really don't think we're going to equal that value by trading him.
Agreed... I would hate to see Jack go, but at the end of the day he is still gonna get traded and even if he doesnt he wont be here when the Pirates become true contenders
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