Report: Pirates shopping OF Jose Tabata
The emergence of top outfield prospect Gregory Polanco has reportedly made Jose Tabata expendable to the Pittsburgh Pirates. .
#Pirates shopping RF Jose Tabata. Will be interesting to see if there are any takers with three years, $12.25M left on contract.
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) March 18, 2014
I've also heard Travis Snider could be available. #Pirates front office still likes Snider, but Polanco was very impressive this spring.
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) March 18, 2014
Tabata, 25, hit a career-high six home runs last season in 106 games, while adding 33 RBI and batted .282/.342/.429.
Polanco, 22, signed as an international free agent in 2009 and is hitting .273/.304/.500 with one home run and a pair of RBI in 10 games this spring. The top prospect in the Pirates system, the left-hander spent the second half of last season with Double-A Altoona and finished batting .263/.354/.407 with six home runs and 41 RBI in 68 games.
Snider, also appears available but would project to bring back less of a return. The 26-year-old struggled at the plate in 2013, hitting .215/.281/.333 with five home runs and 25 RBI and is projected to come off the bench this season. He's earning a much friendlier $1.2 million this season and is eligible for arbitration in 2015.