Pirates Preview 2008: The Infield

So I really meant to have the entire Pirates preview up before Spring Training games started. However, my wife and I took an awesome vacation for about ten days in February and upon our return, I developed a debilitating addiction to PackRat on Facebook. Though not fully recovered from said addiction, I’ve decided to press on with the preview.

The starting infield appears to be set with Adam LaRoche at first, Freddy Sanchez at second, Jack Wilson at short and Jose Bautista at third:

LaRoche got off to a horrible start last year. Absolutely horrible. Though perennially a slow starter, I definitely expect a better first half this year. My guess at final stats: .285, 28 homers, 105 RBIs.

Sanchez has not disappointed yet, so for all I know he’ll hit .400. Though .315 with 80 some RBIs might be more realistic.

Jack Wilson’s great, but I hope he’s hitting eighth this year. Despite a hot final couple months last year, I see Jack pulling in a more standard .270 with a dozen homers.

Baustista should continue to see some across the board improvement. He sacrificed some power last year and became an overall better hitter, as his strikeouts dropped considerably and his average increased slightly. I think he’s going to continue to become even better and could go as high as a .280 average this year with 20 homers.

Barring injury, I can’t imagine anyone currently on the roster ousting one of these four. Even if Neil Walker tears the cover off the ball in Spring Training, he’s still heading to Triple-A to get some more work in at third base. So I guess the real question is the bench.

Since he’s signed for one million dollars, and he has experience at multiple positions, Chris Gomez should make the team. He’s old and he’s a weak hitter, and to be honest, he might be a step down from Jose Hernandez, but he’s a competent fielder. I just hope he’s not thrust into the starting lineup for an extended period for any reason. That would be bad.

Earlier in the year I figured Josh Wilson would have a good shot at making the team as another utility infielder. He still might, but with non-roster invitee Doug Mankiewicz playing well, even practicing at third, and showing good leadership, Josh Wilson’s status is in doubt. Though Mankiewicz seems like a good guy, he really needs to impress across the board to have good shot. His experience at first base means very little with LaRoche, a solid fielder himself, firmly planted there. And with Ryan Doumit and Xavier Nady having experience at first as well, you have to ask if a roster spot is worth a second bench coach. I would expect Wilson or someone like Luis Rivas to get the call, especially if Sanchez is not ready to go. He hasn’t played the field yet, as he recovers from off-season shoulder surgery, but if Sanchez is fully healed and playing well, and no other starters are ailing, expect Gomez and Josh Wilson to be riding the pine in Atlanta on March 31.