Pirates Designate Alika Williams For Assignment

The Pirates announced that infielder Alika Williams has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for left-hander Tim Mayza, whose one-year deal with the club is now official.

Williams, 26 in March, has been with the Pirates for about a year and a half. The Bucs traded Robert Stephenson to the Rays in June of 2023, getting Williams in return and adding him to their 40-man roster in July. He has appeared in 83 big leagues games and stepped to the plate 208 times, producing a tepid batting line of .202/.257/.271. His 5.8% walk rate and 27.4% strikeout rate have both been subpar.

As one would expect, his minor league production has been better than that. Over the past three years, he received 934 plate appearances on the farm. His 11.1% walk rate and 18.5% strikeout rate in that span are both strong numbers. His combined batting line of .268/.357/.413 translated to a 107 wRC+. He spent significant time at both middle infield positions, as well as some time at third base.

Unfortunately, those solid minor league numbers weren’t enough to keep his roster spot with the Pirates. Perhaps that’s due to the lack of major league impact or a somewhat crowded cluster of middle infield options in Pittsburgh. Even with moving Oneil Cruz to center field, the Bucs have Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales, Nick Yorke, Enmanuel Valdéz, Adam Frazier, Tsung-Che Cheng and Liover Peguero as viable middle infielders on the 40-man. Even first baseman Spencer Horwitz can play second base a bit. Prospect Termarr Johnson isn’t yet on the roster but is getting close to the majors regardless.

The Bucs will now have at most a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Williams, whether that’s a trade or some fate on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade possibilities would need to be explored in the next five days. Williams still has options and could appeal to clubs looking for infield depth.