Lyle Over - yawn - bay

So the Pirates signed Lyle Overbay out of nowhere today. Normally I try to be optimistic about the Pirates moves and signings, but this one I just can't figure out.

I don't have a lot of time to right this, so I'll be make it simple. Here's Overbay's line for 2010:

154 G, 20 HR, .243 BA, .329 OBP, .433 SLG, .762 OPS

...and here's Garrett Jones 2010 line, the guy that Overbay will be fighting for playing time with

158 G, 21 HR, .247 BA, .306 OBP, .414 SLG, .720 OPS

The two lines are nearly identical.

Why would the Pirates sign a guy that is going to put up the same numbers as a guy they already have? Overbay has less upside than Jones and his numbers have been steadily declining the last couple of years. Not too mention that this takes away playing time from Steve Pearce and John Bowker, both young guys that have upside but need big league at bats.

All this does is add another below average name to an already clustered competition for 1st base and right field playing time. This all but guarantees that either Pearce or Bowker is left off the 25-man roster at the beginning of the season, and Overbay is not going to make any difference in the win column. If he has a career season, he still wouldn't make a huge impact for the Pirates, and he would just be holding back the young guys that need to be evaluated further at the big league level.

In my opinion, there is no way that this signing benefits the Pirates, in any way. Bonehead move by Neil Huntington. Here's hoping Overbay gets cut in spring training.