Pirates GM Neal Huntington will tell anyone who will listen that the Pirates expect to be competitive in 2018.

How the organization decides to act in whether they add a legitimate starting outfielder in free agency or not will be telling.

Do the Pirates go the outfielder by committee route and just use the likes of Adam Frazier, Sean Rodriquez, Jordan Luplow, and maybe Jose Osuna as their third outfielder or does the team actually look to improve the position?

Even if Austin Meadows goes out and has a dominant spring training, the Pirates are not starting his clock till at least June. Huntington has talked up Jordan Luplow a bit since the McCutchen trade but the Pirates have no excuse not to add a starting caliber outfielder on a one or two year deal with several good buy-low options available.

This is a market where the stars are eventually going to get paid but the rest of the crop is going to get hurt badly. That’s where teams like the Pirates have to find value when it is there.

Austin Jackson is no longer a star but the $2 year, $6 million deal he got from the Giants is exactly the type of signing the Pirates should have been involved into if they’re serious about being competitive this season and actually trying to replace some of Andrew McCutchen’s production.

For the Pirates there are several buy-low options available to take a flier on:

Buy-Low Options

1. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! hit 314/.390/.531 over the second half of the season and his rate of batted balls exit velocity remained very good in 2017 and over 95 MPH. Andrew Mccutchen by comparison hit .260/.341/.433 post All-Star break……

2. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! would drastically improve the Pirates defense in the outfielder. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!