Huntington: Alvarez Beginning To Learn First Base
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - The move has been talked about for months, but now the wheels of change have been put in motion as the Pittsburgh Pirates have begun working with Pedro Alvarez on a transition from playing third base to playing first.
In an exclusive interview, Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington spoke with 93-7 The FAN Pirates pregame and postgame host Dan Zangrilli about the move and what makes this the right time for trying it.
"Just ultimately trying to give Clint [Hurdle] as deep and flexible a roster as we can," Huntington said. "Josh [Harrison] continues to play very, very well wherever we play him. Given some of the challenges that we're facing, given the desire to keep as deep and talented a roster as we can and give Clint some flexibility and some options, we talked about it and thought it would be a worthwhile opportunity to take a chance and see if this might be something that works."
One concern all along has been how Pedro would take a move from his natural position of third base, but Huntington says he was open to the move.
"He wants to help the club," Huntington said. "He recognizes that Josh [Harrison] is playing exceptionally well and recognizes that if he can bounce and do a bunch of different things and swing the bat, that we're going to be a better club than just kind of standing pat."
Given that the team has just begun working with Pedro on making the transition, Huntington was asked what the timeline is for when we could see Pedro playing first in a game.
"Some guys take to it very quickly, some guys take a little bit of time, and we want to see how it goes; but most importantly, it has put Pedro in a position to help this club win games."
When pressed on what the exact timeline looks like, Huntington said only, "We'll see how things progress, literally day-to-day."
Click the audio link below to hear more from Huntington on the potential move of Pedro Alvarez from a third baseman to a first baseman.
GM Neal Huntington On Moving Alvarez To First Base
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
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