Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Nick Ahmed Becoming Possible?

The Pittsburgh Pirates still have one glaring hole to fill this offseason.  Could it be filled by a player who was rumored earlier this offseason?

Entering the offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates had two glaring holes to fill, a temporary/fourth outfielder and a shortstop.  So far, the team has acquired their new outfielder in Lonnie Chisenhall, who they gave a one year deal for $2.75 million with incentives based on plate appearances.  The next move that was to be made was the acquisition of a shortstop.  Here the Pittsburgh Pirates are almost a month from pitchers and catchers reporting and they still have not addressed the shortstop position.

The big get that many fans were hoping for was a former all-star by the name of Troy Tulowitzki.  Tulo was sought after by many teams due to his cheap contract situation.  He made perfect sense for the Pittsburgh Pirates because they could give him a chance to start every day and the team would not have to pay him more than the league minimum.  Unfortunately, Tulowitzki decided to sign with the Yankees.

So now what?  Well, during the Winter Meetings it was reported by several people that the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates had discussions about Gold Glove shortstop Nick Ahmed.  Other than Ahmed, the only other rumor that has floated around is possible interest in former Philadelphia and San Diego shortstop Freddy Galvis.

However, could Arizona’s recent actions suggest that they will be more willing to move Nick Ahmed? The Diamondbacks have signed a lot of infielders this offseason.  So far, they brought back utility infielder Eduardo Escobar (who has experience at short), signed another utility infielder in Wilmer Flores, then last night made a deal for infielder Tim Locastro.  Locastro is an MLB ready infielder who has played mostly at second base and shortstop.

So, essentially the Diamondbacks have multiple players who can play shortstop now in Escobar, Locastro, and Ketel Marte, who played 28 games at shortstop last season.  With all the additions of infielders, it seems like the Diamondbacks could be setting themselves up to trade one away, like Nick Ahmed.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to fill their shortstop spot by opening day.  Ahmed is not the impact shortstop that many fans would hope to get.  However, he did hit 16 home runs last year and won the National League Gold Glove Award.  He would bring a big upgrade in the field and may bring a little more offense than his predecessor.  Hopefully, there is momentum towards a deal sooner rather than later.