Two days ago, the Pirates resigned first baseman Jeff Clement to a minor league contract, adding to the list of possible first basmen canidates. Clement, who played in 54 games with the Bucs in 2010, was the 3rd overall pick in the 2005 draft. He hit .201 with only 7 home runs in 2010. Not the typical power numbers that the Pirates need from their first baseman. I do however, think that he should be given a fair chance to make the team out of spring training. Garrett Jones, Nick Evans, Matt Hague, and now Clement will all be competing for the starting, or possibly platoon role.
In other NL Central news, the World Series champs Cardinals signed Carlos Beltran to a 2 year deal. The switch hitting Beltran will help replace some of the offense that the Cards lost when Pujols went to the Angels. Beltran is a career .283 hitter, and hit an even .300 last season with the Mets/Giants. The Cardinal lineup is now looking pretty powerful, with Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, David Freese, and Beltran. Their pitching staff will also get Adam Wainwright back from Tommy John surgery, which will give them one of the best 1-2 pitching combinations in the league with Carpenter. I wouldn’t expect the Cardinals to suffer very much without Pujols in 2012.
Go Bucs
From Forbes to Federal 