Clint Barmes

Clint Barmes, born in Vincennes, came out of Indiana State University, and was drafted in the tenth round by the Rockies in 2000. The SS came up to the big team in 2003, and yo-yoed back in forth for three seasons with the Rox, putting up some pretty impressive batting numbers as a part-time player.

In fact, in 2005 he was the NL Rookie of the Month for April, and was hitting .329 when he broke his left collarbone in early June while carrying a load of deer meat up his apartment steps. Barmes came back in September, hitting just .216 after the layoff.

In 2006, he was given the everyday job at short, and had one of his worse years at the dish, hitting .220 with a .264 OBP. That opened up competition for the job the following year, and a youngster named Troy Tulowitzki claimed the position. Lotsa luck knocking him out of a job.

He was shuffled to second base in 2008, and after initially losing out to Jayson Nix and then going on the DL, Barmes eventually started for the Rox the next two seasons, hitting a solid .290 in 2008 but slumping to .245 in 2009, though he did have his best season as a slugger, with 23 HR and 76 RBI.

The next year, he flipped between middle infield positions when Tulowitzki was hurt. But his .235/8/50 line didn't cut it, and he lost the second base gig to Eric Young Jr. He was shipped to the Astros for P Felipe Paulino in the off season.

In 2011, Barmes missed several weeks for Houston with a broken left hand, incurred when he was hit by a pitch just as camp was set to break in late March. He went on to play 123 games with a line of .244/12/39 and entered free agency.

He hit the jackpot in Pittsburgh as the perfect storm washed him ashore on the banks of the Allegheny. Clint Hurdle had wearied of Ronny Cedeno's "the lights are on, but nobody's home" act. The timing wasn't great, as shortstop market was pretty weak.

RC's option wasn't exercised, and he signed with the Mets in January for $1M as a back-up infielder. Without a MLB ready SS in the organization, the Bucs, as they did with Rod Barajas in a similar market and situation, identified Barmes quickly (they considered him the top mid-tier FA available, plus Clint Hurdle had coached him) and overpaid to get him in November before the market was picked over.

Barmes earned $3.925M with the Astros, the biggest paycheck of his career. The Pirates inked him for two guaranteed years at $5M and $5.5M. It was the Bucs biggest FA deal in total dollars since they signed 3B Steve Buechele for four years and $11M in the 1991-92 offseason. That's pretty sweet for a guy who was considered a bench infielder by many clubs.

He comes to Pittsburgh with a rep as a good glove guy with a stick that has some pop, but not very strong at getting on base with a .302 career OBP. Barmes leather netted him a 10.8 UZR/150 in 2011 and he had his highest MLB single season WAR of 3.1, mainly due to that solid fielding.

That comes with one caveat: he's only played 1000+ innings at short twice (2006, 2011) in his nine year career, although he's posted strong defensive ratings both seasons. Barmes will be 33 next week, and given his age, his range could decline, although his ability to catch and throw what he can reach shouldn't be affected. And his more consistent technique should help Neil Walker make the turn at second, a work in progress that was hampered by Cedeno's sometimes erratic feeds. So Barmes should be a plus at short.

The hitting could be a different story. There’s a strong chance that his offense could drop off in PNC Park, after stints in hitter friendly Coors Field and Minute Maid Park. He's a fly ball hitter - 47.6% career, and he's only been under that line once since 2005 - and PNC is not kind to guys that put the ball in the air.

His average reflects a lowish .281 Batted Ball in Play for Hits average, which correlates to so many fly balls. Another stat to watch is that even in the friendly confines he's called home, his FB/HR ratio is just 6.8%, well under the league average of 9.1%. His career Isolated Power number is .149, on the lower end of MLB average.

So don't be surprised to see a few Coors Field homers/doubles become cans of corn in front of the Notch. However, Barmes does have a .276 BA at PNC in 99 plate appearances with 4 homers and a .425 slugging %, so perhaps that won't be quite as big a deterrent as the stats would suggest.

The Bucs rolled the dice on signing Barmes, though given the fact that he's a placeholder until until someone in the system - Chase d'Arnaud, Jordy Mercer, Brock Holt, et al -  can step up, it was an understandable risk. With the dearth of quality shortstops both in Pittsburgh and major league ball as a whole, the FO is hoping to get two healthy, steady years out of Barmes.

Bucs On Barmes?

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Bucs are the frontrunner in the Clint Barmes sweepstakes. Barmes, who played for the Rockies under Clint Hurdle and then moved on to the Astros, is considered a strong & steady infielder with a little pop in his stick. He's looking for a starting gig with a two year deal in the $8-10M range, although SI's Jon Heyman hears it will be 2 years/$11M.

Barmes is a lifetime .252 hitter and can knock a dozen or so balls out of the yard every season. His UZR/150 for 2011 was an excellent 10.8, and it's at 7.2 for his career. He had a career high 3.1 WAR in 2011, and it looks like it's about to pay off for him.

If the FO lands him, it's been a nice job for them in the early days of the hot stove season. Zeroing in on Rod Barajas and Barmes, both toward the top of second-tier free agents at their position this year, should help the team defensively and give them a couple of guys that are at least a threat to go long.

Having said that, the Pirates haven't improved noticeably. Barajas is basically a Chris Snyder clone and Barmes is a less frustrating model of Cedeno.

Both are placeholders until the Bucco farm produces an everyday player, currently hoped to be Chase d'Arnaud and Tony Sanchez. But in a year when the free agent market is thin, they did well to tread water and not lose ground, even if they overpaid (maybe to keep the Player's Association at bay, maybe just to overcome the Pirate stigma, or maybe knowing what it would take to land their man against the competition).

They are still trawling the pitching waters, and crossing their fingers that a first baseman falls into their lap without breaking the bank. But until they bring in a top-of-the-rotation pitcher and a couple of mid order bats, they're not building but just buying time.