Pittsburgh Pirates Should Sign Neil Walker To Long-Term Deal

By Andrew Lenz on November 3, 2014

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the MLB playoffs for the second year in a row after a 20-year drought. There were a lot of factors that contributed to that turnaround, from the front office, to the manager, to the individual play on the field. One player has been consistently progressing since his call-up to the majors, and his play hit a career high this year. That player is second baseman Neil Walker, who put up career numbers, and is an acknowledged leader in the clubhouse. The relationship between Walker and Pittsburgh is one that needs to continue, so the Pirates have to sign him long term this offseason in order to keep that relationship intact.

It is not often that a player is drafted by his hometown team, but that was the case when Pittsburgh selected Walker in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft. Walker was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and was a two sport star as a high school senior. When the Pirates drafted Walker, fans were excited to see a local boy play for the team that he grew up watching. That buzz surrounding Walker followed him through the minors and has continued to grow since he reached the major leagues.

It is hard to believe that Walker, who broke the Pirates’ home run record for second basemen this season, didn’t start playing that position until 2010. Walker was drafted to play catcher, but was moved to third base to keep him healthy and to have his bat in the lineup daily. Since the team had an everyday third baseman and an underachieving second baseman, Walker was asked to try another new position: second base. Since working with Pirates great Bill Mazeroski to improve his defense, Walker has been a constant at that position for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates need Walker in the field as much as Walker needs the city of Pittsburgh. This season, Walker was statistically one of the best second basemen in the league. He has constantly grown as a player and it is conceivable that his growth will continue. Yes, Walker will not hit open free agency until the 2017 season, but Pittsburgh needs to get serious about signing him to a long-term deal now. If he continues to produce at the levels that he did this year, the offers from other teams will come rolling in, and the Pirates will probably be outbid. The front office cannot let this happen.

Not only has Walker been productive on the field, but he has also put fans in the seats at PNC Park. He is a feel good story for Pittsburgh natives and fans want to see him play. Ticket sales in general have increased recently, but Walker’s presence on the roster has played a major part in that growth. The top three jerseys that can be seen when walking around PNC Park are the great Roberto Clemente’s No. 21, Andrew McCutchen’s No. 22 and Walker’s No. 18. Walker’s star power in the city of Pittsburgh brings money to an organization that needs all the revenue that it can get.

Walker’s defense and his plate discipline continue to improve, so the Pirates need to lock him down before another team has a chance to offer him a big deal. It would be in Pittsburgh’s best interest to sign him sooner rather than later, so that his price tag doesn’t continue to increase as he keeps progressing. The money and fans that Walker is bringing to the Pirates is extremely important to the organization, not to mention that every Pirates fan would be irate if Pittsburgh failed to re-sign him. Pittsburgh should sign Walker this offseason so that he can continue to help the team push for a division title and, hopefully, one day retire as the best second baseman in Pittsburgh since Mazeroski.

Andrew Lenz is a Blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RealAndyLenz, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.