Should the Pirates seek bench help?

The Pirates' front office has had a flurry of activity the last couple of days. Two days ago, the Pirates fortified their already above-average rotation by trading for Wandy Rodriguez. Then, yesterday we got word that the Pirates' top position prospect Starling Marte was being recalled in time for their Thursday night game against the Astros. That gives the Pirates a potential fixture at the top of their lineup. The Rodriguez trade will bump a starter from the rotation (likely Kevin Correia) and that should deepen an already stellar bullpen. In fact, it could allow the Pirates to trade somebody like Jared Hughes or Brad Lincoln in order to acquire more hitting.

But what of the Pirates' bench? Before the Marte call-up, the Pirates had a bench of Drew Sutton, Jordy Mercer, Gorkys Hernandez, Michael McKenry and Josh Harrison. That's nothing to write home about. There are a couple decent defensive replacements in there (notably Hernandez), but outside of McKenry's occasional power it's about as weak-hitting a bench you could construct.

Now, with the Marte addition, Alex Presley will join the bench and one of Sutton, Mercer or Hernandez will be sent down. Still, that move doesn't do much to improve the Pirates' bench. It is very possible that the Pirates are still trying to acquire another starting outfielder to add pop and depth to the lineup. That would certainly help the bench as Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee would presumably move into a platoon at first base. There are a lot of buyer and few sellers, though, so the acquisition cost for one of those bats could prove prohibitive. I highly doubt Neal Huntington will want to give up one of his top-six prospects, so his remaining trade chips are mid-tier guys like Kyle McPherson, Gregory Polanco and Justin Wilson.

One area the Pirates could target instead is the bench. Acquiring complementary pieces like Reed Johnson of the Cubs or Marco Scutaro of the Rockies could add real depth for a Pirates playoff run. The acquisition cost for these players would be much smaller as well. They could give up a Grade C Prospect and probably not lose much more than organizational depth. This type of a deal could be made with a fellow contender, too. The Red Sox, for example, have a glut of outfielders and could look to move one of Ryan Kalish, Ryan Sweeney or Cody Ross. Indeed the Pirates are thought to have asked about them and have scouted the Red Sox heavily this summer.

I still think Neal Huntington could have something big in the works. Just imagine plugging Hunter Pence or Billy Butler into the lineup. But if Chase Headley, Justin Upton and the rest become a pipe dream, Huntington would do well to strengthen and deepen the bench. It could be done at a reasonable cost and could really make the difference down the stretch.