Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit a career-high 36 home runs in 2013, but he also struck out a career-high 186 times and posted a .296 on-base percentage. However, Alvarez one of the team's top performers in the NLDS against St. Louis, batting .353 with a .421 on-base percentage, .941 slugging percentage, 1.362 OPS, three home runs and six RBI in five games.
The Pirates hope Alvarez becomes a better all-around offensive player in 2014.
"We continue to maximize what he showed in September and October," general manager Neal Huntington said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "And that was the ability to close down and the ability to close some of those holes and to become a better hitter with power [rather] than a power hitter that occasionally gets hits. He's making great strides there, he's so intelligent, he cares so much, he works so hard."