Josh Harrison Needs To Be A Los Angeles Dodger

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers continue to be a trade match made in heaven, it is time a trade is made.

Throughout the offseason the Los Angeles Dodgers have been trying to add two things. These two things are a second baseman and a right-handed bat. Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a right-handed hitting second baseman they have been trying to trade this offseason. And that player is Josh Harrison.

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent a lot of the offseason attempting to swing a deal for Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. However, trade talks between the two sides have broken off. Due to this, it has been reported that the Dodgers are started to target other second base trade targets.

All offseason long the Pirates have been shopping Josh Harrison. When the offseason began they hoped to re-sign Sean Rodriguez. The plan was then to make Rodriguez the everyday second baseman and trade Harrison.

Obviously, this did not happen. However, Neal Huntington would still love to trade Josh Harrison. The biggest reason is to get out from underneath his albatross of a contract. I am one of Neal Huntington’s biggest fans, however, extending Josh Harrison at the beginning of the 2015 season was a colossal mistake.

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If the Pirates can get Harrison’s contract off the books they can re-allocate that money elsewhere. Preferably, into another starting pitcher. This would make the 2017 team better. Additionally, Adam Frazier is a better player than Harrison. So having him as the starting second baseman would make the team better as well.

This is where the Los Angeles Dodgers come into play. As I said above, Josh Harrison would fill the Dodgers two biggest needs. A second baseman and a right-handed bat.

Another reason the Dodgers make sense for Josh Harrison is that they match up extremely well with the Pirates as a trade partner. The Pirates biggest need, remains, starting pitching. Despite re-signing Ivan Nova, the team still needs to add another starting pitcher.

The Dodgers currently have eight starting pitchers for five spots. And only two of these pitchers have Minor League options remaining. Therefore, the Dodgers almost have to trade a starting pitcher this offseason.

The two starting pitchers that make the most sense for the Dodgers to trade are left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir and right-handed pitcher Brandon McCarthy. Both Kazmir and McCarthy would be an upgrade over the internal options the Pirates have to fill out their rotation. Additionally, in my opinion, Kazmir would be the team’s third best starting pitcher.

Next: Pirates Make A Minor League Signing

The Los Angeles Dodgers need a right-handed hitter and a second baseman. Josh Harrison is a right-hand hitting second baseman. Neal Huntington, you know what you need to do. It’s time to end the Harrison Era in Pittsburgh. Please.