Davis's play has been shaky in all aspects. The Bucs have a number of AAA outfielders who have earned big-league playing time. Ruben Mateo, for one, and maybe even Tony Alvarez. Luke Allen could be serviceable. It's not like they don't have depth in the outfield in the high minors. With Wilson, Mondesi, Redman, Bay, and Mackowiak, it's not certain the Bucs would have to tap that depth unless there was a trade or a plague of injuries.
The extra bench players should be good bench players. I've heard speculation that the "loser" of the 2B derby will be the first to leave the roster. That seems very wrong to me. Jose Castillo is doing too well and is too young to move to a lower level of competition. Bobby Hill has been dynamite in his part-time play. A case could be made for demoting him so he can play everyday and work on his defense. If the Bucs lose Jack Wilson in the offseason, Jose Castillo could start at SS and Bobby Hill could start at 2B next year. Hill is a little old to put back in the freezer, I think, and his upside with the bat is too appealing to not explore more fully at this level.
There's more. For the purposes of winning now, building attendance, and thus giving the team a chance at higher payroll numbers, Bobby Hill is a guy to keep on the bench and in the lineup several times a week. The Castillo/Hill platoon is working well now. Why fix what isn't broken? They should take Stynes, Nunez, Davis, and maybe Carlos Rivera off the big-league roster, and not necessarily in that order, before they return Bobby Hill to the minors. What has Stynes done as a hitter? His strong defense at 3B makes him a valuable defensive replacement. There's no good reason to keep both Stynes and Nunez on the bench.
If Bay is ready to play the field every day before the next random injury makes room on the roster, the strong play of Ruben Mateo may make J.J. Davis expendable. Davis is definitely not worth keeping just for the sake of keeping. The value of a player is relative; every guy on the big-league roster is worth only as much as he's an improvement over the guy who would replace him. If Davis stays and Hill goes, Davis better start walloping the ball as a pinch-hitter or the team will be more of a loser.
What the Pirates could really use is a trade, but what could they get for J.J. Davis? A draft pick? Money? A low-A left-handed slugger? Who could use Davis right now?
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