Pedro Alvarez Injury Gives Andrew Lambo Another Opportunity

Mar 3, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez (24) hits a three-run home run in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez started spring training red hot, but this morning the Pirates tweeted some bad news.

The Pedro Alvarez injury doesn’t seem serious, but Alvarez’s swing certainly has been. Check out this Alvarez bomb.

El Toro has gone deep and also worked the left side of the baseball diamond.  The Pirates slugger has four knocks in six at-bats with four runs batted in.  The 28 year old appears to be in excellent shape, both physically and mentally.

The injury to Alvarez will give Andrew Lambo more time at first base.  Unfortunately for Lambo and the Pirates, spring training hasn’t been kind the past two years. Lambo came into spring training last season with the first baseman’s job to lose.

And Lambo did just that.

This spring Lambo has one double in 13 at-bats.

Now over the next few games, a leaner Lambo will look to gain the confidence of the team by providing some offensive firepower.  It appears Lambo would be in a battle with Jaff Decker over one of the few bench spots on the team.  Decker has started hot this spring.  But Decker is limited to the outfield positions, while Lambo has the added versatility of playing first base.

But the bottom line could be who is going to hit at the big league level.  Lambo has hit, although not nearly consistently enough while Decker hasn’t.  Spring doesn’t mean much, but it wouldn’t hurt for Lambo to show his defensive abilities at first, but also get a few knocks and let the Pirates brass breath a bit deeper heading into the 2015 season.