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Pirates Promote Nick Yorke

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3:30pm: The Bucs have made it official, announcing that Yorke has been selected to the roster with Williams optioned in a corresponding move.

3:10pm: The Pirates are promoting infield prospect Nick Yorke, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X. Yorke is not yet on the club’s 40-man roster, but the Bucs already have a vacancy there, so they will only need to make a corresponding active roster move.

Yorke, 22, hasn’t been in Pittsburgh’s system for very long. He was drafted by the Red Sox in 2020, going 17th overall, but came to the Bucs via a rare one-for-one swap of young and controllable players. The Pirates sent right-hander Quinn Priester to Boston straight up for Yorke in a July trade.

The road to the big leagues has been a bit up-and-down for Yorke. It started with a bang in 2021, as he performed well in 97 games between Single-A and High-A. He hit 14 home runs and stole 13 bases in that time. He drew walks at an 11.8% clip while limiting his strikeouts to a low rate of 15.6%. His combined line of .325/.412/.516 led to a wRC+ of 149.

There were questions about his defense but that offensive performance vaulted him onto top prospect lists. Going into 2022, Baseball America ranked him #31 in the league, though a downturn in Yorke’s performance would follow. He was returned to High-A and only got into 80 games, battling injuries such as turf toe as well as back and wrist soreness. When on the field, his results were noticeably worse. His walk rate fell to 8.8%, his strikeout rate jumped to 25.2% and he slashed .231/.303/.365 for a wRC+ of 84.

He fell off top 100 lists after that season and hasn’t quite been able to get back, despite some improved results in subsequent seasons. He was promoted to Double-A last year and played in 110 games, slashing .268/.350/.435 for a 116 wRC+. His strikeout rate stayed a bit high at 24.1% but he drew walks 10.1% of the time, hit 13 homers and stole 18 bases.

Here in 2024, Yorke has been having another good year. He started out back at Double-A and was decent, slashing .251/.325/.366 for a 101 wRC+ in 45 games. The Sox then promoted him to Triple-A, when he got into a good groove, slashing .310/.408/.490 in 38 games for a 138 wRC+.

It was then that he was flipped to the Bucs, perhaps due to a change in the front office. Yorke was drafted during the tenure of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who had been fired and replaced by Craig Breslow. Perhaps Breslow wasn’t as enamored of Yorke as his predecessor and considered him expendable, though that’s entirely speculative.

Either way, Yorke has kept hitting with his new club. In 40 Triple-A games since the deal, he has hit .355/.431/.507 for a wRC+ of 147. The deal doesn’t look great for the Sox so far, as Priester has a 5.67 ERA in eight Triple-A starts since being swapped, though that’s a very small sample size with plenty of time for the narrative to flip. Yorke had a .364 batting average on balls in play at the Triple-A level prior to being traded and a .441 BABIP since, so it wouldn’t be fair to expect him to continue hitting quite this well in the majors.

Nonetheless, it’s possible that Yorke could be a key contributor for the Bucs. He has played some third base, shortstop and outfield, but his primary position is second base, which has been a revolving door for the Pirates lately. The Bucs have used Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Alika Williams and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the keystone this year, with none of them locking down the position.

Kiner-Falefa has been playing shortstop lately with Oneil Cruz moved to center field, while Triolo has been covering third base for the injured Ke’Bryan Hayes. Gonzales has been the regular at second base recently but he has a .267/.305/.377 batting line this year for a 91 wRC+ while getting mixed reviews for his defense.

The Pirates are 71-78 and out of contention, so they will use the final two weeks of the regular season to get a look at Yorke and see how he fares against big league pitching. Going into the winter, they will have to decide how they feel about their infield mix. Second base would be one of the clearest areas to upgrade in the offseason but Yorke could perhaps change their thinking if he seems like an immediate solution. Triolo has also been playing better of late, with a .237/.356/.404 line and 115 wRC+ in the second half.

Each of these infielders can play multiple positions, so that can give the Bucs some creativity in movings things around for the remainder of the season and in the future. For now, Yorke can make his major league debut and get a taste of the big leagues before the winter comes.

Pirates Place Andrew McCutchen On 10-Day Injured List

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The Pirates announced that Andrew McCutchen has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, and infielder Alika Williams was called up from Triple-A to take McCutchen’s spot on the 26-man roster.  Ryan Palencer of the Bucs On Deck site (X link) was the first to report yesterday that Williams was headed back to the majors, after McCutchen was removed from Friday’s game due to left knee discomfort.

While there’s no truly good time for an injury, the knee problem arises at a particularly unfortunate juncture for McCutchen, as the veteran was in the midst of his hottest stretch of the season.  McCutchen has hit .281/.375/.483 with four home runs over his last 104 plate appearances, boosting his overall slash line to .235/.336/.405 in 437 PA.  That works out to an 109 wRC+ and yet another year of above-average production — now in his 16th MLB season, Cutch has only once dipped below the 100 wRC+ average threshold, as he slowed to a 97 wRC+ when playing with the Brewers in 2022.

Losing McCutchen to the IL is another blow to a reeling Pirates team.  The Bucs’ 5-3 win over the Mariners yesterday snapped a 10-game losing streak that all but ended the club’s chances of snagging an NL wild card berth.  Even that win was bittersweet due to McCutchen’s injury, which occurred while he was running to first base after hitting a single in the seventh inning.

Apart from handful of appearances in right field, the 37-year-old McCutchen has been utilized almost exclusively as a designated hitter over his two-season return to Pittsburgh.  The Pirates will probably just shuffle several players through the DH spot to try and make up for Cutch’s absence, while also giving more at-bats to some younger players in what has suddenly become another evaluation period during the team’s lengthy rebuild.  McCutchen can hopefully be back in short order to put a positive coda onto his season, and continue to set himself up for another contract in 2025.

Pirates Place Nick Gonzales On 10-Day Injured List

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The Pirates announced this afternoon that they’ve placed second baseman Nick Gonzales on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Infielder Alika Williams was recalled to replace Gonzales on the club’s active roster. Gonzales is likely to be out for some time; as noted by MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, Pirates GM Ben Cherington noted on a local radio program today that while the club expects the youngster to play again this year, his absence figures to be a long one that’s “measured in weeks, not days.”

That news is a tough blow for the Pirates, as Gonzales has locked down the keystone in Pittsburgh to this point in the season. The seventh overall pick from the 2020 draft and a former consensus top-50 prospect in the sport, Gonzales has slashed a decent .258/.293/.387 (87 wRC+) in his first taste of action as a big league regular this year, though that line is mostly floated by a hot start to the 2024 campaign. Since the calendar flipped to June, Gonzales has struggled badly at the plate with a .235/.259/.330 (61 wRC+), a far cry from the 150 wRC+ he posted in the month of May.

Even in spite of that lackluster offensive production in recent weeks, however, Gonzales is still a clear improvement over the club’s other second base options. Jared Triolo has gotten reps at second base in recent days since Gonzales went down with injury, but his slash line this year is a brutal .202/.277/.272 (57 wRC+) on the year. Williams, meanwhile, has slashed just .210/.234/.290 with a wRC+ of 43 in 68 trips to the plate in the majors this year. There’s at least some room for optimism that he could put up stronger numbers going forward, however, as he’s delivered a strong .327/.421/.394 slash line (122 wRC+) at the Triple-A level this year.

With Gonzales seemingly out for some time and the club’s internal options all leaving something to be a desired, it’s feasible that the Pirates could look to explore external additions at the position in the days leading up to the trade deadline. After all, the 52-52 Pirates have been very public about their intention to buy this summer, and recent reporting suggested they could look at dealing from their pitching depth to add offense. Adding a second baseman may be easier said than done, however, as there aren’t many infielders expected to be moved this summer—particularly after recent deals sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx and Isaac Paredes to the North Side of Chicago.

Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres, and Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa are among the players with experience at second base who are rumored to be available, but none of that group appears at all guaranteed to be moved in the coming days. Even if the Pirates don’t end up making an addition at the keystone, however, the loss of Gonzales makes the club’s need for additional offense all the more acute. They’ve been connected to plenty of other hitters this summer, including outfielder Taylor Ward of the Angels, first baseman Yandy Diaz of the Rays, and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz of the Marlins, either of whom could upgrades the Pittsburgh offense in other areas to make up for the loss of Gonzales.

Pirates Designate Roansy Contreras, Place Ke’Bryan Hayes On 10-Day IL

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2:18PM: The Pirates have officially announced the selection of Skenes’ contract and the other transactions.  Hayes’ IL designation is listed as low back inflammation.

12:53PM: Pirates GM Ben Cherington announced to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (links to X) and other reporters that right-hander Roansy Contreras has been designated for assignment.  This move opens up a roster spot for Paul Skenes, as the star prospect is set to make his Major League debut in today’s game against the Cubs.  Cherington also revealed that third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a bad back, and infielder Alika Williams has been called up from Triple-A to take Hayes’ spot on the active roster.

It wasn’t long ago that Contreras was a notable prospect in his own right, checking into the back end of top-100 lists from Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, and MLB Pipeline prior to the 2022 season.  Acquired from the Yankees as part of the four-player return in the Jameson Taillon trade in the 2020-21 offseason, Contreras elevated his stock in his first season in Pittsburgh’s farm system, culminating in reaching the big leagues for one game before the 2021 campaign was over.  The righty then posted a 3.79 ERA in 95 innings (starting 18 of 21 games) in 2022, and looked like a promising building block within the Pirates’ rotation heading into 2023.

Unfortunately, things then went south for Contreras during a disastrous season.  He posted a 6.59 ERA over 68 1/3 MLB innings, and first lost his rotation job with a demotion to the bullpen, and then was optioned back to Triple-A altogether and didn’t pitch again in the majors after July 5.  The move to Triple-A didn’t get Contreras on track, as he had a 4.96 ERA over 32 2/3 frames for Indianapolis.  Contreras also spent some time going fully back to the drawing board with the Pirates’ Complex League team, trying to work out the mechanical problems that led to such issues a drop in his strikeout rate, an increase in his walk rate, and a minor velocity drop on his fastball.

Pitching out of the Pittsburgh bullpen this season, Contreras’ bottom-line numbers improved to the tune of a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings, and his strikeout rate rose from 18.2% in 2023 to 21.6% this year.  It still isn’t exactly an eye-catching set of results, and the Pirates have seen enough to feel comfortable in possibly losing Contreras to the waiver wire.  While the righty is out of minor league options and thus had to be DFA’ed in order to be sent to Triple-A, it still counts as a bit of a surprise to see the Bucs potentially move on from a 24-year-old who showed such potential as recently as 2022.  Odds are that Contreras will be claimed away for nothing unless the Pirates can get some kind of trade return from a particularly interested team before the end of Contreras’ DFA period.

Skenes’ first taste of the majors will come without the luxury of the game’s best defensive third baseman behind him.  Hayes hasn’t played since May 7 and he is only 2-for-26 in his last seven games, dropping his slash line to .240/.322/.318 over 149 plate appearances for the season.  Hayes has only hit one home run after he hit 15 taters in 2023, and his Isolated Power total of .078 is less than half of his .182 ISO from last year.

While Hayes has both increased his walk rate and reduced his strikeouts, it is fair to wonder if his back problem is the cause of these offensive struggles.  Hayes only had a 101 wRC+ in 2023, but getting even league-average offense from such an elite defender makes Hayes a very valuable player.  Speaking of glovework, a -9.1 UZR/150 for Hayes this season is perhaps the bigger red flag that he isn’t physically right, even if other defensive metrics (+2 Outs Above Average, +3 Defensive Runs Saved) still have a positive view of Hayes’ defense.

Jared Triolo is the only other Pirate to get any time at third base besides Hayes this season, so Triolo could be shifted from his usual second base spot over to the hot corner while Hayes is sidelined.  This would make Williams and Nick Gonzales the top options for second base, leaving the Bucs quite thin on the infield.  Llover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae are on the 40-man roster and could be called up more easily from Triple-A if a need develops, or the Pirates could look to obtain more experienced infield help on the open market or via a minor trade.

Pirates Outright Wil Crowe

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The Pirates announced a few transactions before tonight’s matchup with the Padres. Pittsburgh selected the contract of infielder Alika Williams to make his MLB debut, as reported this morning. Infielder Tucupita Marcano is going directly on the 60-day injured list with ligament damage in his right knee, clearing both active and 40-man roster space. Additionally, reliever Wil Crowe was sent outright to Triple-A Indianapolis after clearing waivers.

Crowe had been designated for assignment last week. The righty had been on the shelf since April due to discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Rather than bring him back to the 40-man roster once he was healthy, the Bucs designated him for assignment. He’s gone unclaimed and will stick in the organization as a non-roster player, since he doesn’t have the service time to test free agency.

A former second-round pick who was acquired from the Nationals in the Josh Bell trade, Crowe has spent two and a half seasons in Pittsburgh. He struggled as a starter in 2021 but found a bit more success after a bullpen conversion last year. Through 76 innings, he posted a 4.38 ERA while inducing grounders on nearly half the batted balls he allowed.

Marcano, meanwhile, seems in danger of missing the rest of the season. He’ll be out until at least the middle of September. The left-handed hitter posted a .233/.276/.356 line over a career-high 220 plate appearances prior to the injury, which occurred when he awkwardly tried to avoid a tag while running the bases in last night’s win over San Diego.

Pirates To Select Alika Williams

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The Pirates are selecting the contract of infield prospect Alika Williams from Triple-A Indianapolis, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 24-year-old will be making his MLB debut whenever he takes the field.

Williams, acquired from the Rays in the trade that sent righty Robert Stephenson to Tampa Bay, was the No. 37 overall draft pick by the Rays in 2020. After a tough stretch in Double-A with the Rays, where he hit .237/.314/.417 (93 wRC+) in 175 plate appearances, Williams is batting .305/.384/.531 (126 wRC+) in 148 Triple-A plate appearances with the Bucs. He’s trimmed his strikeout rate from 19.4% in Double-A to 14.9% in Triple-A, while his walk rate has crept up from 8.4% to 10.1%.

Scouting reports on Williams have typically pegged him as a glove-first option at shortstop with plus speed and minimal power. He’s popped a career-high 12 home runs in the minors this season, however, adding another 19 doubles and a triple. On the basepaths, he’s 6-for-8.

If he’s able to continue that surprising power output at the big league level, it’s possible Williams could eventually outperform the generally modest expectations that peg him as a potential utility infielder at the big league level. Even if he winds up as more of a contact- and defense-oriented infielder, however, his glove at short and ability to handle either second base or third base would give him a good chance to carve out a spot on a big league bench.

The Bucs are dealing with a potential injury of note for utilityman Tucupita Marcano, as Justice de los Santos of MLB.com tweeted last night that Marcano was pulled from the game with what appears to be a ligament injury in his knee. If Marcano is indeed headed to the injured list, Williams could step into his bench spot and see occasional work around an infield that’s currently relying on young options like Jared Triolo (25), Nick Gonzales (24) and Liover Peguero (22) at third base, second base and shortstop while starters Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz are on the injured list.

Rays Acquire Robert Stephenson From Pirates

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1:05pm: The Pirates have now announced the deal and that Williams has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Infielder Mark Mathias has been recalled to take Stephenson’s spot on the active roster.

12:20pm: The Rays have acquired right-hander Robert Stephenson from the Pirates, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Minor league shortstop Alika Williams is heading the other way.

Stephenson, 30, came up as a starting pitcher for the Reds but has been converted to relief work over the past few years. The initial results of the bullpen move were positive, as he posted a 3.76 ERA over 57 appearances in 2019. Things took a downturn in the shortened 2020 season, however, with his ERA shooting up to 9.26 in 10 appearances that year. Prior to 2021, the Reds flipped him to the Rockies in exchange for Jeff Hoffman.

He then bounced back with a solid season in Denver, putting up a 3.13 ERA in 2021. He struggled again in 2022, running up a 6.04 ERA through August before he was designated for assignment and landed with the Pirates. He was able to finish on a high note with a 3.38 ERA in ten appearances for the Bucs down the stretch.

Here in 2023, he began the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation but was able to return in the middle of April.  He’s since made 18 appearances but has a 5.14 ERA in those. He’s still getting punchouts at a similar rate but his control seems to have fallen off this year. He struck out 26.8% of opponents from 2019 to 2022 and walked 7.9% but those figures are 27.9% and 13.1% this year.

That’s a small sample size but Stephenson has shown himself to be fairly inconsistent in his career, with notable swings in his effectiveness. Nonetheless, the Rays will take a shot on helping him harness his stuff. Given their track record of helping flawed pitchers get the best of their arsenals, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see Stephenson get back on track in Tampa.

Despite their reputation for producing an endless stream of quality relievers, they have had some bullpen struggles this year. They have five relievers currently on the injured list, which is putting a strain on their depth. The relief group as a whole has a collective 4.32 ERA on the season, a mark that places them 22nd out of the 30 clubs in the league. They have been looking in various places for reinforcements, including calling up several arms from their own system as well signing Jake Diekman after he was released by the White Sox. Now they will add Stephenson as well to see if he can be part of the solution as they try to hold onto the top spot in the cutthroat AL East. He will just be a short-term piece, however, since he’s slated for free agency this winter.

As for Williams, 24, he was the 38th overall selection in the 2020 draft. He has generally been considered one of Tampa’s top 30 prospects in the past few years, with his speed and defense standing out as his best qualities. The key question has been whether or not his bat would allow him to complement those skills. So far, the results there have been somewhat tepid. He hit .267/.312/.375 in 2021 across three different levels, producing a wRC+ of 86. Last year, he got his line up to .249/.353/.377 for a wRC+ of 104, spending most of his time in High-A. He’s been in Double-A this year, hitting .237/.314/.417 for a wRC+ of 101.

Williams isn’t a star prospect but he comes with a solid floor given his athletic abilities. Any offensive development would be a nice bonus for the Bucs, not a bad outcome for a struggling reliever that they grabbed off waivers less than a year ago.

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