Ken Rosenthal says in this article that the Pirates have inquired about Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche. He also says that the Pirates are not willing to part with Mike Gonzalez to make this trade happen. I can only hope that this is inaccurate information. Or at the very least, incomplete information. Gonzalez for LaRoche is the exact trade that the Pirates should be looking to make right now. Take a look at my response to question #3 of this week's Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable for reasons why the Pirates should be looking to trade their closer. As for LaRoche, he is a 27 year-old left-hand hitting first baseman that put up a .915 OPS last season. This alone makes him a perfect fit for what the Pirates need this offseason. He would be under the Pirates control for at least the next three years if they acquired him. Also (and yes this is an extremely small sample size to even bring up), he hit the heck out of the ball in his two games at PNC Park last season, going 3-6 with 2 HR and a double. Not that that really matters, but it makes it easier to envision him consistently attacking the Clemente Wall through 2009. If the Bucs have the chance to deal Gonzalez for LaRoche straight up, they should do it without any hesitation.
On another note, Dejan from the PG is doing a daily live online chat from the GM meetings in Orlando. Take a look to see the answers he provided to fans' questions today.
Also, Jake from Bucco Blog discusses the Pirates revenue in his podcast from 12/03/2006. He believes it is possible that the team could have up to $106 million to spend if ownership wouldn't take an enormous profit first. Who knows what's going on inside those offices?
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