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Versatile slugger Pearce is a valuable trade chip
- Updated: July 27, 2016
At 39-61 after a 3-1 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday, the Rays could do everything at the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline, or nearly nothing. They could move Chris Archer, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Alex Colome or even Evan Longoria and explode the industry. Or with only three impending free agents, two of whom are unlikely trade targets, they could simply sit tight and hope for better luck with the same core in 2017.
The one thing we know for nearly certain: Steve Pearce is going somewhere, since his one-year contract is nearly up. And since he’s a fit for just about every single contender in baseball, the Rays might actually get a nice return for the relatively small $4.75 million they gave Pearce in January.
After all, Pearce is hitting a very impressive .312/.384/.528, which is 46 percentage points above average and nearly identical to Nelson Cruz’s .283/.376/.544, although in many fewer plate appearances. Or if you look at the past three seasons, he’s hit .271/.347/.502 in 931 plate appearances, basically the same as Carlos Correa’s .273/.356/.492 in 855 times up. Pearce is no shortstop, of course, but he’s played first and second this year, and he made 71 starts in the outfield for Baltimore in 2014-15. In the age of long bullpens and short benches, versatility is key.
Plus, Pearce is a lefty-masher. His career on-base percentage against lefties is .357, and his slugging against southpaws is .505, which comes out to 33 percentage points above average. As we said, every contending team could find a spot on its bench for a hitter like that. These four, however, are the best possible fits.
Mets
With lefties at first (Lucas Duda), left (Michael Conforto) and right (Curtis Granderson) entering the season, the Mets seemed like a perfect spot for Pearce last offseason, and they still do now. That hasn’t much changed now that James Loney has taken over first base, since he’s another lefty who can’t hit lefties, and at second base, Neil Walker hasn’t hit a lick (.210/.297/.322) since the end of April.
Remember, for all the talk about injuries in the rotation, the …
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