Two months ago, many people on this site commented on an apparent "logjam" in the Pirates outfield. Andrew McCutchen was a proven star, Alex Presley was coming off of a strong 2011 season (albeit in just 231 PAs), and Jose Tabata was a young player with upside and a long-term team-friendly contract. Starling Marte had a monster Spring Training, and many hoped Nate McLouth would regain his footing in Pittsburgh. So it looked like the team could have four of five outfielders for three starting spots come June.

Well, some things have changed. Cutch is a superstar. Yay! Presley looks like yet another Tike Redman, Chris Duffy, etc. Tabata is showing some signs of progress, and he hasn't gotten much older in the last two months (he's probably about two months older.) McLouth's only problem is he isn't very good at baseball right now. Starling Marte now has a .268/.333/.446 line in Indy.

I was certainly hoping that Marte would tear up AAA, but he hasn't. I would keep him in AAA for the duration of this season in hopes of a summer 2013 call-up. So now, with the Pirates two games below .500, instead of being sellers, the Pirates should at least inquire into the prices of corner OFers around the league. I would also look into first basemen such as Justin Morneau and Billy Butler, as Garrett Jones would play fine in right field.

I think most of us figured that this situation would work itself out. Unfortunately, it has, but not in our favor. Now, instead of having four OFers for three spots, we have two OFers (and a light hitting Tabata at that) for three spots. Time to get another bat, and corner OF or first base will be way easier than acquiring a good stick at shortstop or catcher.