Pirates Reportedly Unlikely To Pick Up Ronny Cedeno's Option

Dejan Kovacevic writes that it "seems unlikely" the Pirates will pick up their 2012 option on Ronny Cedeno. That seems very strange to me - I get that Cedeno is an annoying player to watch, but he's solid defensively and functional with the bat, and it's not as if quality shortstops are growing on trees right now. The Pirates don't have a replacement handy, and they don't seem very likely to find one in free agency. I'm open to the idea that Chase D'Arnaud or Jordy Mercer could be a better player than Cedeno at some point next year, but they both have a ton to prove.

The $2.8 million the Pirates will effectively have to pay Cedeno (since his $200,000 buyout is a sunk cost) really is nothing, and picking up the option seems like an obvious move to me. Even if the Pirates have decided they hate the guy, he should have trade value with a contract that cheap.