Are the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox Talking Trade?

Boston is a-buzz with trade talk now that the Red Sox have signed David Ross.   The Sox have too many catchers.  The Pittsburgh Pirates desperately need one.

September 29, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (39) during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

So, looking at the Sox stable of catchers – 27 year old Jarrod Saltalamacchia made the news in Boston when it was written that the Buccos are a potential target.   The Sox writers are talking about which teams match up in a trade.  We went and checked out one of the stories and linked it at the bottom of the article, it’s a pretty funny line by Peter Abraham of the Globe Staff

"There is no one player who jumps out at you on the Pittsburgh roster. Maybe RHP James McDonald?"

Uhh, sorry, Peter… no.

Saltalamacchia was a first-rounder back in the 2003 draft.  He hit well when he got his shot four year later, and was shipped to Texas for Mark Teixeira.  But with the Rangers, Salty’s playing time never happened as he made it into just 65 games in four years.

The Rangers sent him to Boston.

He hasn’t hit very well with the Sox, but he has shown some power.  This year he knocked 25 bombs, but struckout in bunches.  Some joke that he would fit right in with the swing-and-miss-happy Buccos.

The fact that he is a switch-hitter interests us, but that’s about where it ends when you look at just how effective he is from both sides of the plate.   If you look at his micro-small-sample-size against southpaws (53 at-bats), it’s scary—- .170/.211/.283.   He hit just one of his homers against left handers last year.

But the Pirates also can surprise: if the plan last year was to get power from Barajas and they knew his average would suffer, why wouldn’t they want to take a shot with Salty?  Just look at a quick overlay of PNC Park on his bombs…[ESPN]

So before we dismiss the Pirates on this trade rumor, maybe the Bucs will get in on the action after all.  Salty threw out 31% of would be base stealers in 2011, but just 18% last season.

So, the bottom line is this:  we don’t think the Pirates are going to get a one year stop gap in Salty.  The other matchups like Cubs and White Sox seem more likely.

If it’s true the Sox have been shopping Salty for weeks, we doubt the Bucs are willing to meet the Sox demands at the moment.

Do you hope it stays that way?  Leave a comment or hit up the poll.

With Three Catchers Red Sox Can Talk Trade