It seems like it’s been forever that the Pittsburgh Pirates have been trying to move Jose Tabata and his remaining two years and $9.5 million that the club owes him.
After once being considered a top prospect and key piece of the Pirates future starting outfield, the 26-year old has been spending parts of the last four years shuffling between the majors and Triple-A Indianapolis.
Tabata had a very solid 2013 season in which he batted .282 and a career high six home runs, however ultimately lost his spot on the big league club last year in favor of Gregory Polanco and Travis Snider, and eventually his spot on the 40-man roster.
The Pirates have been able to designate Tabata for assignment multiple times without worry of losing him, since it is very unlikely that a team would claim him on waivers due to the size of his contract. And on the off chance someone were to claim him, I doubt anyone in the front office would shed any tears over losing him.
But now, the Pirates need to leave him on the big league roster because he is one of the best 25 players in the organization. So the Bucs bite the bullet and look past his previous issues of allegedly being out of shape or the reports that he had been a bad influence on other players from Latin America.
Should the team monitor Tabata and take action if he they notice any red flags with him? Yes, but until that happens this year they need to leave him up.
But this year, the Pirates already have some strong bats off the bench right now in Sean Rodriguez, whomever is not starting at shortstop between Jung-ho Kang and Jordy Mercer and Chris Stewart (though being the backup catcher, it’s unlikely he’d be used off the bench that much). Adding Tabata gives them one more capable bat and allows them to have a deeper and more competent bench, which is something they seriously lacked last year when Michael Martinez, Brent Morel and Jayson Nix all saw significant times in the majors.
Sorry for reminding you that.
A career .275 hitter, Tabata has had flashes of brilliance in the majors, and so far this season he has three hits and two RBIs in six pinch hit at-bats. Limiting his playing time to a bench role would also cut down on the risk of him making costly mental mistakes in the field and on the bases that have plagued him in the past.
It also gives them a contingency plan in right field as Gregory Polanco had a dismal month of May, hitting .192 and a .525 OPS. While Josh Harrison would likely see the bulk of the playing time in right field if Polanco were to start sitting more regularly, or even sent down to Triple-A, Tabata still gives them another option in case of injury.
And then there is the rest of the option of the bench for the Pirates. For as good as Rodriguez, Kang and Stewart have been, the team has a big drop off in production after them.
After a nice start, Corey Hart has slumped to a .555 OPS on the year, and he may not be able to get past his previous knees problems.
Andrew Lambo had one hit in 25 at-bats this year, and while he did have a lot of hard hit outs he has yet to be productive in his limited time in the majors. He still has options left, and when he returns from the disabled list it may be best to send him to Triple-A to get his rhythm going.
Tony Sanchez is another option, especially since it would allow for even more playing time for Elias Diaz at catcher for Indianapolis. However, it seems unlikely that they would keep a third catcher up for an extended period of time unless they were to experiment with him at first base.
However, keeping Tabata up likely won’t increase his trade value. Given Tabata’s contract, it’s unlikely that a team would be willing to give up assets for him in a trade without asking the Pirates to pay for a portion of the salary.
In other words, we’re stuck with him Pirates fans, well at least until his contract runs out after the 2016 season. And given his brief success off the bench so far this year and the limited amount of quality or proven players vying for a bench spot behind him, they might as well get as much out of him as they can.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
