This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat e-newsletter. To learn the complete e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it recurrently in your inbox.
Right now a few month from now, pitchers and catchers will likely be underway at Pirate Metropolis, making ready for an additional season of Pirates baseball. Some gamers will go to camp with a fairly clear understanding of how they match into this 12 months’s workforce. Some should earn a chance within the Majors.
And for some, their function could be very a lot up within the air. Put Jared Triolo into that third class.
Final 12 months was an up-and-down marketing campaign for Triolo, however he positively completed on a excessive notice. He adjusted his hand placement after being demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis in July, going again to one thing extra comfy that simply felt proper. As soon as he was recalled initially of August, he was one of many workforce’s greatest hitters down the stretch, slashing .276/.353/.422 with 4 residence runs over 216 plate appearances.
In keeping with Baseball Reference, Triolo was the Pirates’ Most worthy place participant final 12 months, being valued at 2.3 WAR. He performs Gold Glove-caliber protection, is flexible within the discipline and may run the bases, tenets of an all-around high quality participant.
There’s only one cloud hanging over: the truth that he was optioned to the Minors in July with a .519 OPS. Often, the returning place participant with probably the most WAR has a fairly agency job going into the following season. Triolo will likely be a think about subsequent 12 months’s workforce, but it surely’s exhausting to forecast what his function will likely be.
“We definitely consider he can,” normal supervisor Ben Cherington stated final week when requested if Triolo may have a giant function subsequent season. “He’s been Main League participant for some time, actually. He’s at all times been in a position to assist the workforce do plenty of issues to assist the workforce win video games. Really feel like he took one other step ahead this previous season.
“Precisely what function that’s, I don’t suppose we all know but. We’re assured with him at shortstop. We’re assured in him at third base. We’re additionally assured with him being on the workforce and taking part in six spots and transferring round. It might be any of these. We’ll have time in Spring Coaching to kind that out.”
The Pirates shored up the appropriate facet of their infield this winter with Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe, so the 2024 Opening Day second baseman’s greatest probability to be an on a regular basis participant will likely be on the left facet, at both shortstop or third base.
At a number of factors this offseason, sources have expressed confidence if Triolo is the Opening Day third baseman. The Pirates are additionally available on the market for an additional infielder, whether or not that’s by free company or commerce. In an interview with MLB Community Radio this weekend, Cherington expressed a need so as to add “not less than another place participant.” It appears seemingly that they’ll, and third base would seem like a choice.
Let’s assume Pittsburgh acquires an on a regular basis third baseman. Shortstop is an possibility for Triolo, however MLB’s No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin is anticipated to have a shot to crack the Opening Day roster this Spring Coaching. He’ll, after all, need to earn it, however even when he doesn’t break camp with the workforce, a 2026 promotion appears extraordinarily seemingly. Shortstop would seem like a short-term answer for Triolo at greatest.
The Pirates may lean into Triolo’s defensive versatility and make him a utility participant once more, however there is likely to be a catch there. In every of his three seasons within the Majors, Triolo received off to a gradual begin offensively, made some kind of mechanical change round August, after which completed the season robust. Was {that a} product of the change or getting extra constant taking part in time down the stretch? Being a bench participant is hard and may mess with timing when a few days cross with out seeing stay pitching.
At this second, Triolo seems penciled into an Opening Day beginning job. That might change if the membership acquires one other infielder, which appears a definite chance. Depth is an effective factor and a luxurious the 2025 lineup didn’t have, however what if Triolo may do extra? The purpose is to enhance the offense. That additionally means maximizing the gamers already on the workforce.
For years, individuals theorized how priceless Ke’Bryan Hayes can be if he had been a median hitter. Right here the Pirates are once more with a Gold Glove third baseman with offensive upside however loads of query marks. Time will inform in the event that they wish to take one other danger for the potential excessive upside.
