With most of the roster in a slump, the Pirates could benefit by bringing up new or new-ish faces.
Let’s face it, the Pittsburgh Pirates looked abysmal in the Bay Area this week.
Starting pitchers and Ke’Bryan Hayes aside, no one on the roster stood out. Lots of strikeouts, watched strikes and weak contact were noticed as the Pirates lost both series to San Francisco and Oakland. That said, changes must be made before the Bucs come home to host the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels this weekend.
Plenty of players are on hot streaks in Indianapolis, so here are a few names the Pirates should consider promoting and some who should take a detour to Indiana.
Promote: Nick Gonzales, Demote: Jack Suwinski
We are on year three of the Suwinski experience and aside from a few hot streaks, he continues to be underwhelming. Currently, he has the 13th worst WRC+ in baseball (49) and the fifth worst in the National League.
Power and speed are his only strengths, but what good is it when he barely makes contact or gets on base? At least Edward Olivares and Michael A. Taylor CAN get on base here and there.
Meanwhile, Gonzales has kept his foot on the gas pedal since the Triple-A season started March 29. In 24 games, Gonzales is slashing .374/.436/.606 with a 1.042 OPS, three home runs and 15 RBI and has only gone hitless in two games. In one, he reached twice with a pair of walks.
“What a ridiculous start to the season for Nick Gonzales.”
Yep. Today: 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI pic.twitter.com/8hxOmHwYRp
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) April 24, 2024
Not to mention, he’s cut down his strikeout rate to just 18 percent. This is something the Pirates wanted him to work on considering it was at 28 percent last season, and to say he’s improving would be an understatement.
Promote: Yasmani Grandal, Demote: Henry Davis
Davis desperately needs to find himself again in Triple-A. The former first overall pick has been underwhelming to start the season and a breakout is nowhere in sight.
He has yet to hit a home run in 23 games and carries a .490 OPS. Plus, he’s only caught 29 percent of baserunners stealing, which is nearing Rod Barajas-type levels.
Is Grandal the answer to the Pirates’ catching problems? Probably not, but Davis needs time to do some on-field soul searching while Grandal mentors and catches here and there.
Select/Promote: Jake Lamb, DFA: Rowdy Tellez
When Tellez was signed in the offseason, Pirates fans hoped for a resurrection of his 2022 self. So far, he is not fulfilling those hopes.
Through 31 games, Tellez is slashing .205/.287/.265 with one home run (coming during the first series against Miami) and 22 strikeouts. In comparison, his slash line and home run count through the first 31 games last season was .248/.328/.554 with nine big flies.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to see Tellez is experiencing more than just a slow start to the season.
Meanwhile, fans would rather see Connor Joe or minor leaguer Jake Lamb, who brings Major League experience to the table.
Lamb is settling in well with Indianapolis, hitting .391 with three home runs and 14 RBI through 64 at-bats. There’s nothing left for him to prove other than at the MLB level, which he’s struggled with over the course of his decade-long career.
We’re scoring runs quicker than we can post. To catch you all up:
⚾️ It is the top of the sixth inning.
⚾️ We have scored 13 runs on 15 hits.
⚾️ Ji Hwan Bae is 4-for-4.
⚾️ Jake Lamb is 3-for-4 with 2 doubles. pic.twitter.com/YwxEY6SLG4— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) May 1, 2024
But when it comes to actually improving first base in Pittsburgh… We don’t do that here.
Select/Promote: Paul Skenes, Move to 60-day IL: Marco Gonzales – OR – Ryan Borucki
This one might have been somewhat obvious but it’s hard to reason why Skenes is still in Triple-A.
Through 23 innings in Triple-A, Skenes has accrued 41 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run. Plus, he’s worked his way into deeper pitch counts and longer games, even going six in his most recent start against Buffalo.
Meanwhile, Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that both Gonzales and Borucki won’t throw for a while as they deal with different ailments.
If they rehab and get ready for the second half of the year, someone can be designated for assignment at a later time.
Lastly, Skenes debuting against the Rockies or Angels at home would be a great way to get him started.
Honorable mentions
Some others who the Pirates could consider calling up are infielders Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae, who are both having good starts to the season. The only problem is sending down the surehanded duo of Jared Triolo and Alika Williams.
The latter pair are not putting up world-beating numbers, Triolo especially, but taking away their defense could be too risky for the team.