Church.

During the Pirates last 17 seasons of losing, they have tried a lot of different things to correct it, and unfortunately none of them have worked. Today the Pirates are trying a different approach; they are getting religious.

Dejan Kovacevic reported today that the Pirates are close to signing free agent outfielder Ryan Church.

Church started last season with the Mets, and was the starting right fielder for awhile until he was traded to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur. He was plagued by injuries and only played 111 games in 2009, hitting .273/.338/.384 for the season. The Braves non-tendered him last month and he hit the free agent market, but didn't get much attention. The Cardinals were really the only other team interested, and I'm sure some of that interest tailed off when they signed Matt Holliday. The Pirates are now stepping in and are most likely going to sign him. A twitter update surfaced today that said Church was just waiting a physical and "excited". I guess that's good news... it's not very often you find someone that is excited to play in Pittsburgh.

Church's best season came in 2007 when he hit .272 with 15 bombs and 70 RBI for the Washington Nationals. He is 31 years old now, so he is not far removed from his prime. However, he will surely not have the chance to replicate those numbers with his role in Pittsburgh, as he will mainly be coming off the bench.

The opening day outfield is set with Milledge, McCutchen, and Jones, barring injury. Clement will start the year at first base and Jones will back him up. Therefore, Church will be their to provide relief if one of the outfielders or Clement goes down or underperforms.

This provides quite a log jam in the outfield for the Pirates. Normally a club carries 4 outfielders, and 5 if one of those players can play multiple position. Right now the Pirates have Milledge, McCutchen, Jones, Moss, Raynor, and now possibly Church on the roster, which is 6 outfielders, so one or two of them will have to be lost. My vote is for Brandon Moss, which is easier said then done because he is out of options, and releasing it would make the Pirates eat a lot of his salary, which is not something Neil Huntington likes to do. Raynor also can not be sent to the minor league because he was a Rule 5 pick, but I think releasing him would be foolish, as he has a large amount of upside. Moss has had his chance and hasn't shown us anything, so it's time for him to go.

All-in-all, that outfield looks pretty darn good, and will look even better when the Pirates call up Jose Tabata in mid-summer. Church will be a good addition to the club, even though he won't see the field very often. He is certainly a better signing than Craig Monroe or Eric Hinske last year. His contract will surely be just a one-year deal, so their will be no repercussions if they can trade him and get something for him at the deadline.