At first blush, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ signing of Melky Cabrera did not make much sense, even if it was just technically a minor league deal.
After all, the club had already signed Lonnie Chisenhall to a major-league deal to fill in for Gregory Polanco until his return. Then, Chisenhall would slide into the fourth outfielder role. Simple. Easy. Done.
Yet the Pirates felt it necessary to bring another bat into Spring Training with a pretty solid resume of competent production in Cabrera. Kicking the tires? Sure. But what happens if Cabrera shows that he still has something left in the tank as a fourth outfielder?