11/1/14

An Option for the Pirates?

The Kansas City Royals announced that they have declined the 2015 option for first baseman Billy Butler. The 28-year-old Butler has played in 1166 games with the Royals and has a career batting average of .295 with 127 home runs and 628 runs batted in. Butler was an All Star selection in 2012 and also won a Silver Slugger Award that same year. The Pirates will be looking to upgrade at first base. In the 2014 season, the Pirates used Ike Davis and Gaby Sanchez as their first base platoon. Sanchez had a poor season, as he hit .229 with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in while playing in 123 games. Davis's numbers weren't much better, as he hit .235 with ten home runs and 46 runs batted in through 131 games. The Pirates could look to use an in-house option like Andrew Lambo. Lambo has spent parts of the 2013 and 2014 seasons with the Pirates. In 39 games, Lambo has a batting average of .246 with one home run and three runs batted in. I really do believe the Pirates should make a run at Billy Butler because I feel that he can help the Pirates' first base situation in 2015.