Jul 26, 2011 3 min read

Perhaps it is time to put those trade rumors linking the Pirates to various hitters to rest.

The Pirates recalled third baseman Pedro Alvarez from Class AAA Indianapolis on Monday night before facing the Braves to start a tough seven-game road trip that includes four games in Atlanta and three games at Philadelphia.

At the sake of dusting off the oldest pre-trading deadline cliché, adding Alvarez may be as good as any trade the surprising Pirates make between now and Sunday’s deadline for consummating deals without waivers as they try to make a run at their first division title in 19 years. The Pirates entered Monday’s action tied for first place in the National League Central with St. Louis.

Alvarez hit .365 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 18 games and 78 plate appearances for Indianapolis after being activated from the disabled list then optioned to the Indians earlier this month with a .461 on-base percentage and a .587 slugging percentage.

Scouts who watched Alvarez in recent days said his bat speed had returned along with the exceptionally loud sound the ball makes coming off his bat. That is a good sign because Alvarez didn’t make much hard contact before he went on the DL on May 20 with a strained quadriceps, hitting .208 with two homers and and 10 RBIs in 36 games.

“We wanted to know that he could come up here and contribute,” Pirates general manager Neil Huntington said. “There was a stretch where he went 7-for-8 in two games but only hit one ball hard. We wanted to see him making solid contact on a consistent basis.”

There was a perception the Pirates kept Alvarez in the minors once his 20-day rehabilitation assignment ended as a form of punishment.

Alvarez is unemotional, creating the sense that he does not care very much about baseball. There has also been constant talk about his conditioning as the stocky left-handed hitter is listed at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds.

“It’s not true when people say Pedro doesn’t work hard,” Huntington said. “He wasn’t blessed with the best genes when it comes to weight. He has to work 10 times harder than anyone else to keep his weight down. He really cares about being a great player and I think he’ll come back with the idea of trying to prove something.”

If Alvarez could hit nine home runs and drive in 43 runs like he did during the final two months of his rookie season last year, he would make a difference in the Pirates’ attempt to stay in the NL Central race for the long haul.

John Perrotto is the national writers for BaseballProspectus.com.