Pirates appear to have few options to fully replace Starling Marte’s offense

By this past weekend, it had been two months since the Pittsburgh Pirates’ new management team started engaging in trade talks regarding their starting center fielder.

So Monday’s announcement of the trade of Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks probably didn’t catch new manager Derek Shelton by surprise.

“The one great thing about working with (new general manager Ben Cherington) is he communicates extremely well,” Shelton said Friday during PiratesFest. “We have conversations. When I came into this job, it was eyes wide open. ‘We’re going to have change at times, and there’s going to be things that happen.’

“As long as we’re aware of it and we continue to communicate on it, I think that’s just how we’re going to operate.”

Two weeks before pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton, Fla., for his first spring training as an MLB manager, Shelton has to adapt on the fly. He must compensate for the loss of his No. 3 hitter with a lineup that already was offensively challenged.

Among the 30 MLB teams, the 2019 Pirates finished 21st in runs, something Marte led them in. They were 27th in home runs. Marte had their second most. They were 22nd in slugging percentage, and only one teammate, Josh Bell, had a better slugging percentage Marte.

Cherington indicated Monday he was going to shop outside the organization for Marte’s replacement. Shelton previously said he will deploy whoever is on his team’s 40-man roster at a given moment.

.@TimBenzPgh writes the deal that Ben Cherington swung to ship Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks sure resembles something Neal Huntington would have done https://t.co/4BTfRfL9p5

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) January 28, 2020

So barring a trade or the signing of, say, Billy Hamilton or Kevin Pillar, where could Shelton turn to fill the gaping holes in center field and in the middle of the Pirates’ lineup?

The simplest answer is a combination of Bryan Reynolds and Guillermo Heredia. Reynolds finished fourth in last season’s NL Rookie of the Year balloting. Heredia was the Pirates’ marquee free-agent signing this offseason — albeit at a modest $1 million on a one-year deal.

Heredia has 177 games of major league experience in center field and nearly that many games played in left and right combined. He arrived with a reputation as a standout defender.

“I love playing the outfield, and I love covering ground out there,” Heredia said through an interpreter Saturday. “But I think what has given me the most success is the positive mindset … and the consistency with my preparation and the way I go about the game.”

Few doubt Heredia’s defensive capabilities. It is his offense that probably compelled Cherington to indicate a preference of keeping Heredia as the fourth outfielder. Heredia has a .659 career OPS and .240 batting average with just 64 extra-base hits in 1,101 plate appearances.

But he hit .281/.339/.456 against left-handers last season, suggesting Heredia often could be in the lineup against lefties.

Reynolds’ spot in the lineup is safe. The only question is which outfield position he plays. In his first MLB action last year, Reynolds played 79 games in left, 31 in right and 25 in center. Throughout his minor-league career, Reynolds played 150 games in center and 106 at the corner spots.

You: When do we start talking Bryan Reynolds as a Rookie of the Year candidate?

Us: Now. pic.twitter.com/pla7ta1zSB

— Pirates (@Pirates) June 20, 2019

“I’m just as comfortable in center, maybe even a little more,” said Reynolds, who had been pegged to start in left before the Marte trade. “I just feel like it’s a truer read out there. I played there growing up. I played there in college and in the minors and some last year. Really anywhere out there I’m perfectly comfortable. Just preparing for all three, really.”

No matter what route the Pirates take, they will get the outfield covered, possibly at an above-average level — defensively. Offensively, though, might be a different story.

Perhaps Gregory Polanco can be at full health and have a career year? Maybe Kevin Newman or Colin Moran blossom, or Josh Bell replicates his 2019 first half over an entire season.

Even if Cherington acquires another outfielder, it is unlikely it will be a player with an impact bat. So if the Pirates hope to improve last season’s mediocre offense, it will have to be without an equivalent replacement for a player who, in 2019, provided 271 total bases and an .845 OPS.

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