Pirates GM: 'We've essentially committed to Pedro (Alvarez)' at 1st base
Pedro Alvarez will shift across the diamond for the 2015 season.
Alvarez, as widely expected, will play first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates after serving as a third baseman with the club for the last five seasons.
The move isn't surprising, and was further cemented after the Pirates designated Ike Davis for assignment Thursday. Alvarez experimented at first before his season was cut short in early September due to a stress reaction in his left foot.
"As we sit here right now, we've essentially committed to Pedro over Ike Davis," general manager Neal Huntington said, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Huntington acknowledged that it wouldn't have made financial sense to carry three first basemen in Alvarez, Davis and Gaby Sanchez, the lone right-handed hitter of the trio. All three are arbitration eligible and MLB Trade Rumors expects them to collectively cost over $12 million.
Sanchez and Alvarez both have severe platoon splits and figure to share duties at first base.
Spotty defense coupled with Josh Harrison's breakout campaign made Alvarez's switch to first base a logical move. Harrison hit .315/.347/.490 with 13 homers and 18 stolen bases, while his 4.9 WAR ranked third among Pirates players.
The inconsistent Alvarez lost his everyday job to Harrison and endured through another up-and-down season at the plate.
Alvarez has serious holes in his game, but packs legitimate power at a time when offensive numbers are trending downward across baseball. The 27-year-old hit .231/.312/.405 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in 122 games.
But some signs suggest he could be in for a rebound. His strikeout rate of 25.4 percent was a career-low mark, and the first time it has been below 30 percent in a season. He also posted a career-best 10.1 percent walk rate, but did experience a drop in power.
Although his .173 isolated power percentage - a stat which measures how often a player hits for extra bases - was his lowest output in five seasons, it was still well above the league-average mark of .135. And Alvarez's career ISO is a robust .201.
Alvarez hit a National League-leading 36 homers while driving in 100 runs during a 2013 All-Star season. His 84 homers since the start of 2012 are the 12th most in baseball.