Two weeks ago, I discussed why I thought the Pirates should trade Ryan Doumit. Part of my argument was focused on the fact that Doumit’s offensive contributions last year surprisingly put him in the same class as Joe Mauer and Brian McCann — baseball’s best-hitting catchers.

At the time, I pointed to this post graphing OPS+ contributions by position at Baseball-Reference’s Stat of the Day blog. Now, I’d like to do so again — placing emphasis on this line:

While catchers [have] show[n] a steady decline [in offensive production since 1956], 2Bs and SSs have come closer to the pack.

So long as the 20th century second baseman showed up to the park with his glove, he was in good shape. But in the 21st century, most teams are expecting their keystoners to bring bats, too.

Using the Baseball-Reference Play Index, I searched for players who appeared in at least 80 games in 2008 (with 75 percent of those appearances at 2B) and sorted them by OPS+. There were 24 infielders who met the criteria.

Chase Utley’s OPS+ of 135 barely topped Ian Kinsler’s 134. Dan Uggla (128), Dustin Pedroia (122) and Brian Roberts (117) formed a clear second tier. These players were the top five second basemen in MLB last season.

Utley – .292/.380/.535, 33 HR, 14 SB
Kinsler – .319/.375/.517, 18 HR, 26 SB
Uggla – .260/.360/.514, 32 HR, 5 SB
Pedroia – .326/.376/.493, 17 HR, 20 SB
Roberts – .296/.378/.450, 9 HR, 40 SB

I see two different archetypes:

• Utley, Kinsler and Pedroia are second basemen to build around. They’re power-speed hybrids, five-category fantasy baseball contributors. No facet of their game is lacking — they’re the MVP candidates.
• Uggla and Roberts are complementary players. They contribute greatly to
  their teams, but they can’t do it all. Still, they serve a purpose: Set
  the table, or clean it up.

The Pirates haven’t had a second basemen of Utley’s ilk since George Grantham in 1930. There aren’t even any reasonable facsimiles for Uggla or Roberts: Johnny Ray (1984), Freddy Sanchez (2007) and Warren Morris (1999) are the only modern era players worth mentioning for above-average seasons at the plate.

Look at the Pirates’ primary second basemen since their last year over .500:

2008 Freddy Sanchez – .271/.298/.371, 9 HR, 0 SB
2007 Freddy Sanchez – .304/.343/.442, 11 HR, 0 SB
2006 Jose Castillo – .253/.299/.382, 14 HR, 6 SB
2005 Jose Castillo – .268/.307/.416, 11 HR, 2 SB
2004 Jose Castillo – .256/.298/.368, 8 HR, 3 SB
2003 Jeff Reboulet – .241/.321/.330, 3 HR, 2 SB
2002 Pokey Reese – .264/.330/.352, 4 HR, 12 SB
2001 Pat Meares – .211/.244/.304, 4 HR, 0 SB
2000 Warren Morris – .259/.341/.343, 3 HR, 7 SB
1999 Warren Morris – .288/.360/.427, 15 HR, 3 SB
1998 Tony Womack – .282/.319.357, 3 HR, 58 SB
1997 Tony Womack – .278/.326/.374, 6 HR, 60 SB
1996 Carlos Garcia – .285/.329/.397, 6 HR, 16 SB
1995 Carlos Garcia – .294/.340/.420, 6 HR, 8 SB
1994 Carlos Garcia – .277/.309/.367, 6 HR, 18 SB
1993 Carlos Garcia – .269/.316/.399, 12 HR, 18 SB

Can this mold be broken and a competent offensive player be plugged into the lineup when Sanchez inevitably leaves the Pirates after the 2009 season?

There are options:

• Shelby Ford or a converted Neil Walker seem the most likely upper-level players to contribute at a Ray/Sanchez/Morris level for a few seasons. Still, Ford and Walker have work to do in the minors, and neither projects as a perennial all-star. Good but not great.
• Six of Neal Huntington’s first nine draft picks in 2008 were spent on shortstops and third basemen, necessitating eventual position changes for some. How would Jordy Mercer, Chase D’Arnaud or Jarek Cunningham look at second in 2012 or so? Is it asking too much for Mercer’s 2008 NCAA line of .330/.373/.542 to stand up to the test of time?
• Grant Green figures to be a top-five pick in the 2009 MLB draft, but he may not be able to stick at shortstop.

The Pirates’ organization is slowly but surely undergoing a modernization, and as a fan, I’d love if that process resulted in the team’s finally fielding a dynamic offensive second baseman. Whether he’s an MVP like Utley or merely an all-star like Uggla, a second baseman who can contribute to the top half of a batting order is a must-have item for a contending team in today’s game. It’s time to expect more than an empty batting average and mediocre glove.