With McLouth Gone Is McGehee Next?

As it stands, I believe that Casey McGehee appears to be the next veteran to be removed from the roster as he’s been pushed to the bench by Matt Hague and could lose further playing time after Jordy Mercer’s call-up. McGehee does have an option remaining so could be sent to the minors, although with his salary I believe that he is more likely to be designated for assignment.

McGehee is not the only struggling veteran on the team, but he has a .243 wOBA and has been worth 0.4 wins below a replacement player. However, he has not had a lot of luck at the plate - he’s had a tough schedule, as opposing pitchers have an aggregate line of .240/.299/.387, and has a BABIP of just .235. McGehee has hit a lot of ground balls (50.6 GB%) and a player with his speed will not beat many out for infield hits (though 3 of his 19 hits so far this season have not left the infield): 

 

It’s this lack of luck combined with a lack of power (.059 ISO) that has cost him is role in the first base platoon, as he’s barely even shown any warning track power this season. However, despite the lack of success McGehee has not really let that affect his approach at the plate. He leads the team with a 0.59 BB/K ratio and has managed to walk more (11.2 BB%) and strike out less (19.0 K%) than Garrett Jones and has been above average defensively. Nonetheless, Jones will continue to receive plenty of plate appearances despite Matt Hague’s arrival. The benefit that Jones has over McGehee is that he is a left-handed hitter who offers more flexibility defensively (due to the arrival of Mercer) – as he will also receive playing time in the outfield. Statistically, Jones has shown a lot more power; but then that’s about all he’s done better than McGehee. 

Nate McLouth struggled mightily over his last month as a Pirate and the season as a whole. His second stint in Pittsburgh ended with a .182 wOBA, striking out 18 times in 62 plate appearances and showing very little power. He was finally designated for assignment, so the question then became which one of the Bucs struggling veterans will be next and Casey McGehee is the next in line. He’s struggled further over the last month (.154 wOBA) and has now lost potential playing time to both Matt Hague and Jordy Mercer. He currently deserves to be benched given his current performance and is probably the most likely to be removed from the roster if the Bucs do make a move to add another infielder. However, MeGehee could quickly become one of the better Pirate hitters if he could start making better contact and gets a little luckier at the plate.