Could Jake Fox be on the way to PNC Park?

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the move to acquire Jeff Larish,  another 3B/1B type player.  Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported the deal between the Red Sox and the Pirates last night.  The Bucs sent cash to Boston in the exchange.

Larish will report to AAA Indianapolis tomorrow.  But where is he going to play?

The move seems puzzling, unless you consider that there is more to come.  Is it conceivable to think Jake Fox is on his way to PNC Park?  Fox has a .919 OPS at Indy and wasn’t in the lineup last night as the Tribe defeated Norfolk 4-1.

It is definitely a consideration when you simply look at the playing time at Indianapolis:  With Fox out of the lineup and d’Arnaud back, Mercer slid to third, Hague to first and Clement was the DH.  Typically, Fox has been taking the starts at first base, Matt Hague at 3B, and Jeff Clement has been the DH.  So, what gives?

Larish is 29 years old, and was last in the big leagues in 2010 when he was with the Oakland A’s and Detroit Tigers.  He didn’t actually tear up the league–he hit .179/.267/.313 in 27 combined games for both teams.  So, it’s safe to say that until Larish starts hitting the ball, he is nothing more than org filler with major league experience should the unthinkable happen.

Some Larish highlights for you, and yeah, the bombs he hit against Nebraska are in the video….

Mar 4, 2012; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Jake Fox (41) grounds out to end the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at McKechnie Field. The Blue Jays defeated the Pirates 8-5. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Pirates offense hasn’t been good this year. You know what happens when something goes wrong with a professional sports team, don’t you? Their fans become sports doctor geniuses with all the answers.

One of the answers that some Pirates fans have come up with recently is “freeing Jake Fox” (which means calling him up to the major leagues… winky face). Fox is hitting .342/.432/.605 in Indianapolis this year, which is a huge reason why people want to see him in the majors. They also want him up here because of the poor play of Rod Barajas, the Pirates catcher. Jake Fox does own a catcher’s glove. To a lot of fans, that means he’s good enough to play the position a the major league level. I’m here to tell you that he’s not.

Jake Fox has never been able to find a consistent home in the show. He’s made just 89 career starts in the major leagues. Only 20 of those starts have come at catcher. In the minor leagues he has played the position more, in fact it has been his main position down on the farm. He’s played catcher in 296 career minor league games. 21 of those came last year.

The telling statistic here is that zero of them have come this year. He didn’t suit up in the catcher’s gear at all for the Pirates in spring training and he hasn’t done it in Indianapolis either. The Pirates don’t view this guy as a catcher anymore.

Sure, the Pirates probably didn’t envision Rod Barajas being this terrible in spring training, so they didn’t think they might need another big league ready backup, but I think if they ever would have given thought to him playing catcher again, they would be working him in behind the plate a bit more often.

I’m not a scout. I don’t know how good Fox is behind the plate. What I do know is that the Pirates don’t see him as a catcher and will not make him a catcher again unless an extreme emergency happens.

Fox is a corner infield now. There isn’t a spot in Pittsburgh for another corner infielder. That’s kind of why Matt Hague got cut. Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee are doing a pretty decent job with that platoon and Pedro Alvarez’s name is permanently inked into the lineup.

Sorry doctors, I think it’s time to find a new treatment for this anemic Pirates offense – because it just isn’t Jake Fox.

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