OnlyBucs

64565A5A4E7C5F565B5E5156370 wrote: Yeah like I said my ask would be a SP.  That's the big spot for an upgrade to this team IMO


agreed.  I would even trade him for minor league SP talent with real upside.   Which would be unpopular, but would give us hope we could start getting top of the rotation types here instead of being Back of the Rotation Inc.



I would also fire Searage tomorrow and revamp the entire Pitching philosophy before Keller arrives and underperforms his potential too.  lol

I can't imagine Polanco bringing back SP that would be anything but "more of the same" - another fungible 4/5 guy. Is anyone really going to give the Pirates a high end pitcher for Polanco? If so, then I agree, that's a trade to make. But I can't imagine that.



The upside of any trade seems pretty small compared to Polanco's (diminishing) upside.

If you go into the minor leagues instead of requiring ML ready arms, you should be able to pull a very good prospect for a young corner OF with current ability and upside of Polanco.

I think Polanco would have a good chance of netting a good prospect also. It just depends on whether the acquiring team believes this year's offense will be maintained going forward. I would be real curious to see what he (or Dickerson) would net if you package a surplus #4 arm like Kuhl with him. I think with a partner looking to rebuild, you might get a real quality player.

But isn't it nice to be arguing over which of four OFers we want to use. Last year at this time we had two . . .

I am on the fence. He has shown a great talent. He is fun to watch when he is hitting. That ball explodes off his bat at times. I also consider him a young player. It isn't his fault he was called up at age 22. If we think Taillon, Kuhl, Williams, Moran, and Bell will get better with age, why not Polanco?



I do think teams would give him a shot and want him. I fear trading him away and he becomes the super star we all hoped.



Maybe bench him to send a message? I don't know if less playing time will help, though. It isn't like he isn't hustling or trying. He just isn't playing well.



I did think this was the make it or break it year for Polanco. His future can go either way: Trade, Starter, 4th OF. Tough call on what to do. I understand both sides (trade, keep).

It would have to be a high prospect for me to trade him. We're frustrated today. But he has at least 5 years ahead of him in the Pirates system. The Pirates can't trade away a future all star. not saying he is, but if another club tries to "take him off our hands" with a middling prospect, Neal has to say "no". And if someone is ready to deal a high end prospect, what are they seeing that we're not?



Easy call if the return is significant or if Neal decides to blow the team up (not happening), otherwise I can't help but see a star playing for another team two summers from now.

What message needs to be sent to Polanco? He's improving his game. This is his best offensive value ever so far this season. He's been better than Josh Bell who, so far, is not improving his game. This whole discussion flabbergasts me.

5E7B687D616A6160656D090 wrote: What message needs to be sent to Polanco?  He's improving his game.  This is his best offensive value ever so far this season.  He's been better than Josh Bell who, so far, is not improving his game.  This whole discussion flabbergasts me.


Even though Polanco is only a year older, more people are down on Polanco than Bell. If Bell was called up when he was 21-22 years old, he would have the same tenure as Polanco. I don't understand that either.



Like I said, its a tough call.

5F7A697C606B6061646C080 wrote: What message needs to be sent to Polanco?  He's improving his game.  This is his best offensive value ever so far this season.  He's been better than Josh Bell who, so far, is not improving his game.  This whole discussion flabbergasts me.
If you remove his 2016 season, in 392 games, he has .247 BA, .728 OPS, 118 xbh's, 35 HR, 142 RBI, 282 K's against 136 BB's.

So I guess my point is, maybe he's just a slightly below average player at a premium position.

Meanwhile, in only 251 games, Bell has .258 BA, .783 OPS, 85 xbh's, 32 HR, 136 RBI, 172 K's against 108 BB's. His HR's and RBI's are similar to Polanco's in 140 less games.

Again, I removed Polanco's 2016 season, which looks more like an outlier than who he really is.