Why Can’t the Pirates find a decent first baseman?

I mean, first is at the extreme left of the leftward drift, the easiest defensive position. Any outfielder or third baseman should be able to adapt, and many do as they age and lose range. How is it possible that the Pirates consistently get so little offense out of the position that should give you the most run production?
Connor Joe is doing fine, but he should be a platoon player. Where is the other half of the platoon?

 

On another board we had a Tellez countdown to a batting average of .150. He came close and then he goes and gets 2 hits in a game.

 

Meanwhile, Lamb (who hits left but throws right, and so can play some third as well as first) is hitting .333 with an OPS just below.900…. at Indy. He is not on the 40 man and I don’t know what it would take to make that move.
Does Tellez own a sex tape starring members of the front office and the Pirate Parrot or something? I just can’t think of any reasonable explanation for him being around.
Could he somehow be traded to the Steelers? He looks like a man who could be useful on third and short, or in goal line situations.
At some point they gotta make a move. Is June 1 his expiration date?

 

Saw an article where Reynolds was "informally" trying out 1st base during practice since he seems to be slipping a bit in the OF apparently.

 

It is a known (though little discussed) phenomenon that a player’s offense can improve if he is switched to an easier defensive position. That is the real reason for the leftward drift, to keep a good bat in the lineup as the guy loses defensive ability. Too bad there are only two corners to put guys at! Has Reynolds’ range factor gone down? I did not see that article. He is only 29, usually it happens in the early 30s, unless there has been an injury.

 

Well, the Pirates got a first baseman, Spencer Horwitz. If you are expecting a 40 homer a year guy, he ain’t it. But he is very good at keeping the ball in play and not striking out. I expect that he will need to have platoon help against tough left handers.
If you could somehow make Cruz a bit more like Horwitz (more disciplined at the plate) and Horwitz a bit more like Cruz (higher bat speed and more power) you would have two great hitters.
At least they did not sign a veteran to a 1 year deal, as we have seen since they traded Josh Bell (Carlos Santana, Ryan Vogelsong, Rowdy Tellez). I expected that move.
I think they still have Jake Lamb at Indy. If so, this probably spells the end of the Jake Lamb era, as he does too many of the same things that Horwitz does.

Note: I checked, and Lamb is not on the Indy roster and apparently elected free agency in November.