Trade Profiles: Josh Willingham

USA Today

It's funny, this is the third year I am doing trade profiles and the past two years it seemed like I was only writing about position players.  Big bats if you will.  And this year I didn't think I would be writing about any bats because the offense has been solid.  But, one interesting rumor I saw had the Bucs interested in Josh Willingham.  So here's your only profile on a bat.

Reds and Pirates two of a few teams to monitor on the Willingham trade front. Reds offered him a 2 year deal before he chose the #MNTwins.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) July 22, 2014

Willingham is a bat the Pirates have been rumored to be interested for the past three years but the Twins refused to deal him because he was under team control.  Well, he's not anymore.  He's in his final year and for a contract year, he is putting up some pretty lousy numbers.   His triple slash is .207/.352/.402 for an OPS of .754.  For a low average, Willingham sure does get on base and that's something the Pirates are very good at this year.  Willingham also has 9 HRs, a higher walk rate than last year and a lower strikeout rate than last year.

I guess there is a lot to like about Willingham, but where in the world would the guy play?  Well when you notice that he thumps left handed pitching, the answer becomes clear.  He could replace Gaby Sanchez in the first place platoon.  In addition to good things regarding Willingham, is he is only making $7 million this year and the rest of the salary is prorated.

Now the bad.  Willingham is an outfielder by trade.  He does not have a ton of reps at 1B but has played the position before.  He's also a very inconsistent player.  He is hot for awhile, then cold for awhile.  If you don't like Pedro's streaks, you won't like Willingham in Pittsburgh.  Other than that, there aren't many negatives.  Prospect price should be cheap, salary not too high, etc.

When I first saw this rumor, I said no way.  But now examining it, I like it.  Willingham hits lefties as well as Gaby but has more of a power bat.  The Pirates are last in the majors in HRs off of left handed pitching.  Willingham could help that for sure.  It actually makes a ton of sense if he can play 1B.  That's the wildcard.  IF he can play there it could be a great buy low option.  Don't be surprised if Willingham ends up in Pittsburgh by the end of the month.