John Dudley: Alvarez, Polanco might be all the offense Pirates need

Sooner or later, and sooner is the safe bet, we're going to start to hear that the Pirates need to seriously consider adding a couple of bats by the all-star break.

It's a logical conclusion based on their offensive production so far.

Entering Saturday, they were averaging 4.1 runs per game, 16th in baseball, and batting .225, 23rd in the majors. They've already been held to two or fewer runs five times.

Not that any of this should come as a surprise.

Everyone knew pitching and defense -- with some timely hitting thrown in -- would be the Pirates' recipe for success.

That was the case last season, when they overcame a 1-5 start to win 94 games.

That's why there was no shortage of grumbling this offseason when the Pirates failed to retain either Marlon Byrd or Justin Morneau or go out and sign a hitter who would have represented an upgrade over their two positions of greatest concern, offensively speaking, in right field and at first base.

And it's why, despite a 6-4 start, there will be more talk of dealing for an experienced bat, perhaps someone like Michael Cuddyer, who is in the final year of a three-year contract with the Rockies and can play first base or the outfield.

That all seems reasonable, but so does this: The Pirates might have enough firepower right now on the big-league roster and in their system to resist giving up a prospect or two in a deadline deal.

I say this for two reasons.

One, Pedro Alvarez, who seems like he should be 30 by now but actually just turned 27 and is entering his prime, might be getting better.

There's no reason to suspect Alvarez will win a batting title or even manage to strike out fewer than 150 times in a season.

But he could hit 50 home runs and drive in 140. Although the sample size is very small, he has taken a better approach against left-handers so far this season.

That kind of power production from Alvarez, who went into Saturday with five homers in nine games, would help offset the light-hitting tandem of Travis Ishikawa and Gaby Sanchez across the infield.

The second reason is that, unlike last season, the Pirates appear to have a major-league-ready position player pushing for a promotion in outfielder Gregory Polanco.

Polanco returned to the minors for more seasoning this spring, and he's responded by tearing up Triple-A pitching so far. The sample size is small, but through eight games, he was batting .433 with two doubles, one triple, one homer and a .469 on-base percentage against International League pitching.

If he can come close to that kind of production when the Pirates finally bring him up -- which could be sooner than expected now -- he could provide just as much of a jolt to their offense as anyone on the open market.

Even a more productive Alvarez and a splashy arrival by Polanco won't push the Pirates' lineup into the stratosphere occupied by the runs factories in places like Boston, Detroit and St. Louis. They're simply not built the way those teams are.

But combined with more steady defense and the kind of pitching we've come to expect, it might be enough to enable them to take the next step.
