Implications of the Pirates signing of utility player Jayson Nix

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle last night on what the Pirates next move will be for Pedro Alvarez…. “I think that’s going to be our next level of conversation,” Hurdle said indicating he planned to talk to Neal Huntington on next course of action and what to do with Alvarez.

About 12 hours later we have gotten an idea of what the plans are for Alvarez now.

The Pirates today have signed veteran utility player Jayson Nix and designated Brent Morel for assignment. Nix will be active for today’s game.

Nix, 31, went 6-for-39 (.154/.214/.231) with one homer in 18 games with the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this season before being granted free agency on May 13. He then signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, who released him on Friday. He batted .274/.341/.411 in 215 at-bats in Triple-A.

In 443 career games with the Rockies, White Sox, Indians, Blue Jays, Yankees and Phillies, Nix has hit .216 with 38 homers and 128 RBI with a career .641 OPS.

Nix career games played by position: Third Base – 133, Second Base – 123, Shortstop – 87, Left Field – 87, Right Field – 5.

With Starling Marte set to join the club this coming week, Josh Harrison is expected to become the Pirates starting third baseman with Nix taking over the utility role.

Expectations are Pedro Alvarez will be parked on the bench full-time as discussions internally are now centered around whether to start working him out and learning the first base position.

The Pirates actively tried to trade Alvarez in the last couple days leading into the trade deadline and are expected to try to move him again this month. Word throughout the industry is teams believe the Pirates could DFA Alvarez this winter which has also weakened his trade value.

Alvarez’s on-going woes highlights where the Pirates missed a golden opportunity at the deadline to acquire a player like Emilio Bonifacio.