C J Cron Designated

[fjk090852-7]

Would Cron be someone the Bucs should attempt to acquire. Possibly they could move Bell back to right field. I doubt that this will happen, but it maybe worth the opportunity to acquire him.

[SCBucco]

525E5F040D040C01061903340 wrote: Would Cron be someone the Bucs should attempt to acquire. Possibly they could move Bell back to right field. I doubt that this will happen, but it maybe worth the opportunity to acquire him.


Was thinking the same thing when I saw it. He hit 30 homers this year.

[fjk090852-7]

Cron also has two years of arbitration before he becomes a free agent. The salary due him under arbitration would probably fit under the Pirates budget.

[SCBucco]

7C70712A232A222F28372D1A0 wrote: Cron also has two years of arbitration before he becomes a free agent. The salary due him under arbitration would probably fit under the Pirates budget.


I know ... he was making 5.3, right? The only problem is he is strictly a 1B man in the NL. I wouldn't have a problem with this, as long as Bell can play competent OF until Polanco gets back. Then again, its not like Polanco plays exactly a strong OF.

[Bobster21]

I would consider moving on from Bell. His defense (and I use the word loosely) is unacceptable. He can't throw. His hitting is inconsistent and power is lacking. He wasn't a power hitter in the minors or last year but managed to hit 26 HRs in 2017. That seems to be the exception rather than the rule. He doesn't hit for average either. They can certainly do better. The risk is that he matures into a much better hitter for someone else but the defense will always be a problem. The 26 HR year of 2017 is recent enough to make him tempting to some A.L. teams who can DH him. At this point, both Cron and Dietrich are probably better options. Maybe even Kang or Moran. I like Bell and would be happy to see him have a good career. But he's not showing signs of improving either with the bat or glove. If the Pirates are going to try to contend at least for a WC spot they have to find productive players instead of spending years hoping that problematic players can turn into something better.

[gileszee]

He could at least platoon with Bell I suppose, but if Bell supplies no power for the team then I agree Bell has to go. God knows he is not kept for his defense, it is painful to watch. Yikes.

[mouse]

I agree totally with what Bobster has to say. I can understand compromising a bit on defense to get a higher lever of hitting, but we seem to make serious compromises on defense in the hope that someday, somehow, maybe a player will develop into a hitter. Bell is the latest example of that.

[notes34]

Yes please.

[SCBucco]

614C41505746511112230 wrote: I would consider moving on from Bell. His defense (and I use the word loosely) is unacceptable. He can't throw. His hitting is inconsistent and power is lacking. He wasn't a power hitter in the minors or last year but managed to hit 26 HRs in 2017. That seems to be the exception rather than the rule. He doesn't hit for average either. They can certainly do better. The risk is that he matures into a much better hitter for someone else but the defense will always be a problem. The 26 HR year of 2017 is recent enough to make him tempting to some A.L. teams who can DH him. At this point, both Cron and Dietrich are probably better options. Maybe even Kang or Moran. I like Bell and would be happy to see him have a good career. But he's not showing signs of improving either with the bat or glove. If the Pirates are going to try to contend at least for a WC spot they have to find productive players instead of spending years hoping that problematic players can turn into something better. 


You bring up very good points. When you consider we had essentially 23 homers combined from our starting corners in the infield, its not a good thing.

[Bobster21]

5D4D4C7B6D6D610E0 wrote: I would consider moving on from Bell. His defense (and I use the word loosely) is unacceptable. He can't throw. His hitting is inconsistent and power is lacking. He wasn't a power hitter in the minors or last year but managed to hit 26 HRs in 2017. That seems to be the exception rather than the rule. He doesn't hit for average either. They can certainly do better. The risk is that he matures into a much better hitter for someone else but the defense will always be a problem. The 26 HR year of 2017 is recent enough to make him tempting to some A.L. teams who can DH him. At this point, both Cron and Dietrich are probably better options. Maybe even Kang or Moran. I like Bell and would be happy to see him have a good career. But he's not showing signs of improving either with the bat or glove. If the Pirates are going to try to contend at least for a WC spot they have to find productive players instead of spending years hoping that problematic players can turn into something better. 


You bring up very good points.  When you consider we had essentially 23 homers combined from our starting corners in the infield, its not a good thing.
It's quite a problem. 1b and 3B are historically positions where you find power. And HR hitters are expensive. The Pirates won't pay for a hard hitting corner infielder so unless they can develop their own or find a less expensive alternative, they are at a disadvantage. They hoped they had found that in Bell but it hasn't been encouraging. Cron could be a rare case where they could add power at 1B without having to spend 10s of millions. And it remains to be seen what Kang can contribute and how much opportunity he'll get. If they continue to go with Bell and Moran at the corners, it is unlikely they will be adequate either defensively or for power. But that may yet be the plan. It's not a good plan to spend years waiting for players to develop into something they might never be or waiting so long for them to achieve that higher level that they are no longer affordable (either because of arbitration or free agency) once they achieve it.