Pittsburgh Pirates’ Pedro Alvarez in a fix about playing winter-ball – MLB News
Pedro Alvarez is playing winter ball? Or is he not playing? There are only rumours making the rounds about the Pittsburgh Pirates’ third baseman. The player who has faced a tremendous amount of criticism for one reason or another is now encountering a tough
situation pertaining to winter ball.
As the Major League Baseball season is coming to an end, there are assignments for winter ball. Pedro Alvarez might well be playing on the Dominican Winter League club that is managed by Dean Treanor, who is actually the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A skipper.
However, it all hinges upon how the otherwise tumultuous period of trade goes. All the same, it also depends what the star player decides.
For the manager of Pittsburgh Pirates Neal Huntington, it is Pedro Alvarez himself who has to go for whatever decision suits him in the long run. But he also at the same time thinks that Trevor should come into spring training.
"We see both perspectives," Huntington said. "One perspective, which is a genuine and legitimate one, is that it might be better for him to just take a deep breath and come into Spring Training ready to go.”
There is also an acknowledgment that the third baseman did not actually have a very smooth season this time round. While his team also faced stiff resistance from the rivals, Trevor had had nothing really special to boast about.
“There is [also] the perspective that it would be good for him to go down and get at-bats and try to salvage what has been a very difficult year for him,” said Neal Huntington.
However, the team manager also insists it is nothing very negative. "[It] ... shouldn't be portrayed as anything negative on Pedro should he choose not to go," Huntington said.
He thinks that the right thing for a player is to go for what ultimately proves helpful for him. What needs to be taken into account is that Pedro needs a lot to do in terms of improving the performance which has rather seen a backward spiral this time.
A look at this season’s stats shows that he has only had a sparse average of .192. The average is hardly assuring for him and for the team as a whole which wants him to do something extraordinary.
Having had only 15 RBIs in his 214 at-bats, he has scored 17 runs this season with a .192 average which has three home-runs with .280 SLG and having had 41 hits to his credit. It will be interesting to see what Alvarez decides, as the team will be looking
forward to his improved performance for next year.
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