PITTSBURGH — The 2011 season was a disappointment for third baseman Pedro Alvarez. The 24-year-old Alvarez came off a 2010 season where he hit for a .256 clip with 21 doubles, 16 home runs and 64 RBI’s over 95 games with Pittsburgh. Alvarez was named Rookie of the Month in September and his potential got the city excited.
Alvarez struggled with the Pirates, hitting just .191 with four home runs and 19 RBI over 74 games this season. He looked over matched at the plate, battled quad injuries, and was even demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis.
But from those struggles were learning lessons.
Alvarez, who was in Pittsburgh for Piratefest, was noticeably trimmer and seemed upbeat while talking about gearing up for the 2012 season.
“I’ve been in California most of the offseason. I’ll be [back] out there in January,” he said.
Since the season ended, Alvarez has spent the offseason in Los Angeles working out five days a week with a trainer and getting back on track for the new season.
“I’ve just been focusing on my functional strength and my flexibility and mobility, agilities and what’s going to get me in a good foundation for the rest of the year and for years to come,” Alvarez said.
The Pirates fully expect Alvarez to be the starting third baseman in Pittsburgh next season. But in case things don’t turn around, they put a contingency plan in place. Last week, reliever Jose Veras was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for third baseman Casey McGehee. The 29-year-old had an All-Star 2010 season where he hit 23 homers and drove in 104 while being named the Brewers MVP.
The pressure of the season and wanting to be ‘the guy’ could have been a factor as to why Alvarez struggled after making the club out of spring training. Instead of spending the offseason in the Dominican to play in winter ball, Alvarez decided to take the time off to clear his head and get back in shape.
Since Alvarez is a native of the Dominican, he has not ruled out heading down for a few weeks before heading to Bradenton, Fla. for spring training.
“I can kind of go when I can,” Alvarez said. “So we decided at least for this part of the offseason that it would be most beneficial for myself and the organization to just focus on my health and get ready for the year. Who knows. A couple weeks from now, I can still go out there and play for a couple weeks.”
After spending the holidays with his family and wife, Kelli, in Tennessee, Alvarez will head back out to Southern California to continue to work out with his trainer. The first full squad workout kicks off on February 24, but Alvarez plans on reporting down to Bradenton several weeks before spring training starts, where he expects to bounce back from the season he learned so much from.
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
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