So I’m sitting here watching the MLB Network tonight (featuring Trenni Kusnierek, who’s probably more popular among long-time WHYGAVS readers than any ex-Pirate not nicknamed Thor) and Al Lieter, Harold Reynolds, and Joe Magrane just did a “free agent pitcher draft” for the Pirates, Padres, and Reds. Lieter, who’s a pretty astute guy, represented the Pirates and picked Oliver Perez with his first pick.
Now, this whole exercise was hypothetical, but I thought about it a bit and really, Ollie is the ultimate Neal Huntington project. He’s got a better arm than probably 95% of everyone in the majors, he runs up a ton of strikeouts, and he’s hard as hell to figure out. I think Joe Kerrigan could potentially do a lot of good for him, just like Rick Peterson did in New York. Plus, picking Perez up probably lets a guy like Ohlendorf go to the pen, where he’s probably best suited to be. So the question is, if the price was right, would you want Oliver Perez back in a Pirate uniform?
