FanPost

Trading Garrett Jones

The headline is self-explanatory. The question before the court is whether Jones, if he continues to show he's not just a one-year wonder, elevates himself above the status of place-holder and becomes an asset to be leveraged.

I think most of us assumed he'd be a guy who could hold down first base or right field reasonably well until Alvarez or Tabata arrived and needed the position. But if he continues to rake at anything approaching his current pace for the next month or so, he's going to start popping up on people's radar screens.

So again, the question is whether it makes sense for the Pirates to keep him around knowing he might hit 30 or 40 homers for a 95-loss team or trade him to a contender in need of an affordable Lefty McThump and get back prospects who will be ready to contribute in two or three years when this team becomes a contender itself.

As difficult as it might be in the short term, I think the answer is obvious.

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