#Pirates GM confirms: If healthy, there is NO chance 3B Pedro Alvarez starts season at Triple-A. Yes, even if he’s struggling @ plate.
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) March 25, 2012
This topic has been heavily debated now for weeks. However, Huntington stated that there have been no internal discussions about Pedro Alvarez not starting the season in Pittsburgh.
I am not going to go into too much detail on this because I have discussed it at length in the podcasts and other posts, but I stand behind this decision. Before March, Alvarez was pencilled in at 3rd base in my book and 30 at bats in spring training does not change my mind on that.
Now, it doesn’t mean Alvarez should be given a free pass, but he should be given the opportunity at the Major League level to show if he is the 2010 Pedro or the 2011 Pedro. If he is the 2010 Pedro, then the club will have the pure power hitter they desperately need. If he’s the 2011 Pedro, there are other options. Those options don’t have near the ceiling Alvarez has, but they are, at the least, serviceable.
