Tuesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost All-Star center fielder Starling Marte for the next 80 games after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. The suspension begins immediately. Marte will also be ineligible for the postseason should the Pirates qualify.
Marte is essentially irreplaceable -- he's one of the best all-around players in the world and the Pirates have no one internally who can provide similar impact. There's also no such player available in free agency or on the trade market. The club will have to get by with some lesser options.
First to get the call: outfielder Jose Osuna.
José Osuna has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and will be available for tonight's game in St. Louis.
— Pirates (@Pirates) April 18, 2017
Osuna, 24, was recently ranked as the 28th-best prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system by MLB.com. He is currently hitting .250/.341/.389 with five doubles in 10 Triple-A games, and the MLB.com scouting report says "he's an average hitter with at least average power." They also note he's best suited for first base defensively.
The Pirates opted to call up Osuna rather than top outfield prospect Austin Meadows, who MLB.com recently ranked as the seventh-best prospect in baseball. He's one of the best pure hitters in the minors and one of the reasons the Pirates were open to trading Andrew McCutchen this past offseason. They want to get Meadows in the lineup.
Meadows, 21, is off to a slow start in Triple-A, hitting .162/.220/.270 with one home run in 10 games so far. He has, however, picked it up of late.
Austin Meadows is starting to find himself w/ Indy. 5-for-16, HR, 5 RBI, only 1 K in last four games. Started season 1-for-21, 9 K. #Pirates
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) April 18, 2017
Calling up the top prospect to replace Marte during his suspension would be the sexy move, though the Pirates have a development plan in place for Meadows, and they don't want to deviate from that plan. He played only 87 games last year due to injuries, and his Triple-A experience totals 47 games.
The Pirates surely want Meadows to get on a bit of a roll and have some sustained success at Triple-A -- they no doubt have other development benchmarks they want him to reach as well -- before throwing him into their big-league lineup. His time will come soon enough, perhaps in only a few weeks, but right now they don't want to push it.
(For the record, calling up Meadows now would not change anything with regards to his free agency. He's already spent enough time in the minors this year to push his free agency back from the 2022-23 offseason to the 2023-24 offseason. Calling Meadows up now would have the same effect as calling him up in August with regards to free agency.)
As it stands, the Pirates will go forward with their internal options to replace Marte. There's really nothing else they can do right now. Venture out into free agency (Angel Pagan?) or the trade market so soon, and everyone will know they're desperate. Prices will go up.
Here is the club's rough outfield depth chart right now:
- Andrew McCutchen
- Gregory Polanco
- Adam Frazier
- Jose Osuna
- Josh Bell
- Alen Hanson
- Austin Meadows
McCutchen and Polanco are going to play everyday no matter what. Even though Polanco is probably the superior defender at this stage, McCutchen will be shifted back to center. Manager Clint Hurdle made the announcement before Tuesday night's game in St. Louis.
As for the third outfield spot, Frazier is most likely to see an uptick in playing time. The 25-year-old super utility guy is hitting .308/.372/.487 (133 OPS+) with one home run in 12 games so far, with most of his time coming at second base and in left field. (Polanco has been dealing with a groin issue.) Frazier is a lefty bat who would have the platoon advantage most of the time.
Moving Bell, the team's starting first baseman, back the outfield is an interesting option. He was drafted as an outfielder and started his career there, but the club moved him to first base for defensive reasons. They could put Bell back in the outfield and let John Jaso play first base. Left field at PNC Park is pretty spacious though. The Pirates might not want to downgrade their defense that much.
For now, the Pirates will have to try to get by with guys like Frazier and Osuna and Bell. At some point Meadows will be ready and they'll call him up, and chances are it'll happen before Marte's suspension is over. The Marte suspension did not make Meadows more MLB ready, however. The club has a development plan in place for him and they're sticking to it.
