The Pirates board their Sunday evening plane bound for San Diego, tired, nursing injuries, and with a serious need for ice packs and not enough time for the trainers to spread between everyone.

So, the question remains...What roster moves will NH make?

I'll take a stab at it, after the jump.

First order of business is Jordy Mercer. Mercer will be going on Paternity Leave. This will likely be for a few days, and I expect the Pirates to replace him with Chad Qualls being reinstated from the bereavement list and going 1 position player short.

Secondly, the Pirates need a starting pitcher for their Monday evening game. The originally scheduled starter, Wandy Rodriguez, probably can't make the start, so we have a few options:

1. Start A.J. Burnett on 4 days' rest

- this is the move I think they will make, but the Pirates have surprised me with their personel moves before

2. Start Wandy, hoping he can give you 4 or 5 innings, and then turn the ball over to Kevin Correia and pray that the game is still in reach by the end of the 8th.

- It's unlikely that Wandy could give the Pirates more than 4 innings, and with an already taxed bullpen, we need a starter who will go deep tomorrow.

3. Call up a starter from AAA Indy

- By my calculations, Kyle McPherson will be scheduled to pitch Monday for Indianapolis, so it could work simply that he is called up, and then a subsequent roster move (Hughes to AAA for rest likely) would have to be made. McPherson would only need to make one start, and then he could be sent back to AAA once Mercer comes back.

Lastly, the Pirates have several players who could land on the DL, particularly to make roster space. Tony Watson (fatigue), and Neil Walker (pinky) come to mind as the most obvious choices, but arguments could be made for McKenry (How did he survive that game?!) and several other players.

In Conclusion, I expect the Pirates to call up McPherson, reinstate Qualls and subsequently place Mercer on the Paternity Leave list, and send Hughes to AAA for rest.

And to take a stab at trying the lineup for Monday:

1. Harrison 2B

2. Barmes SS

3. McCutchen CF

4. Sanchez 1B

5. Snider RF

6. Alvarez 3B

7. Barajas C

8. Navarro LF

9. McPherson P

Let me know what you think in the comments