Brandon Wood is a Pirate

Since Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly have been running the Pittsburgh Pirates they have been picking up the castoffs of other teams like they were all stars.

Huntington history

When Coonelly and Huntington took over you would think that they were trying to find their whole pitching staff from what the Yankees did not want. If the Yankees released or traded a pitcher the Pirates were there to comfort them and welcome them into the fold. Hello Anthony Clagget, Steven Jackson and Eric Hacker. Goodbye Anthony Clagget, Steven Jackson and Eric Hacker.

They even traded for some desired Yankees, that is desired by the Pirates. Not many other teams were in the market for them.

Former First Round Draft Choice

This past week, a former number one draft pick of the California, Anaheim, Los Angeles Angels(they seem to be as confused as the Pirates, as far as their name goes at least) was released by the club and became available. Based on the Pirates past practice of trying to find a rock and attempt to turn it into a diamond they jumped at the opportunity to have a former first round draft pick join the team.

Same Problem Different Team

The Angels had given up on their former first rounder, sound like a familiar scenario Pirates fans? Unfortunately, until recently, this was the norm for the Pirates. But, this was another team and their draft pick that didn't work out for them. So, by virtue of the Pirates horrible record last year, they had the first crack at picking up this infielder. As you can tell Neal Huntington is not shy about trying to take a castoff and making something out of him, especially one that was so highly thought of fairly recently.

Brandon Wood is a Pirate

The Pirates wasted no time and claimed Wood off waivers and made room for him on the roster by designating Josh Rodriquez for assignment. Brandon Wood is a Pirate shortly and an option in the infield. What does that mean? It means that the Pirates have some hope that another of their infield positions has a player with a potentially high upside.

Lack of shortstop production

When the Pirates traded Jack Wilson to the Pirates they signed Ronny Cedeno to take his place. Cedeno, another castoff, had a lot of potential, showed some power, and played a decent shortstop defensively. As with the other teams he's been with, that potential has not been fulfilled with the Pirates. There have been short flashes here and there, but nothing sustained.

No options
If the Pirates had a viable option before this Cedeno would undoubtedly be a former Pirate also, but there were none. The Pirates went so far this year as to take another diamond in the rough, Josh Rodriquez, in the Rule 5 draft. Doing this obligated the Pirates to keep Rodriquez in the majors this year, or designate him for assignment to the minors and work out a deal for him with Cleveland, or just send him back to Cleveland. For now they have designated him for assignment and will see if Cleveland wants him back.

Brandon Wood is a Pirate, what now?
It looks like the Pirates will alternate Wood and Cedeno at shortstop to see what Wood has. Since Wood has also played third he will be used as an option there also. Will Wood be an upgrade at shortstop from Cedeno? Not if his Major League playing history holds. He has been an accomplished AAA player in his Angels career, but hasn't been able to succeed at the top.

AAAA Is Wood a AAAA player? One that dominates at AAA but can't translate the success to the majors. The Pirates had another shortstop that fits this tag, Brian Bixler. He did well in AAA, but every time he was called up to the Pirates his game was never there. Couldn't hit and couldn't field. Those 2 items are slightly important if you want to be a major leaguer.

Bixler or Wilson
Since Brandon Wood is a Pirate now, will he become Jack Wilson or Brian Bixler. The jury is still out til he gets a chance, but if Clint Hurdle can turn this guy's career around the Pittsburgh Pirates will have 3 younger players with high upsides in the infield. Hopefully Brandon Wood is a Pirate that will turn into a quality player. I'm hoping he'll turn into what the Angels thought he would. But, for now Brandon Wood is a Pirate and we'll see what he can do in the next few weeks.