For the first time since 2014, the Pirates can’t say for certain who their right fielder is.
On Saturday, the club formally cut ties with their longest tenured player, releasing Gregory Polanco.
Taking his place in right during the Pirates’ 13-0 loss to the Cardinals at PNC Park Saturday were three different outfielders. Michael Chavis started the game, but exited with right elbow discomfort in the fifth after landing hard on a dive attempt earlier. The recently-promoted Cole Tucker played two innings out there before moving to the infield for a double switch. Ben Gamel moved over from left to right to close the game.
That might be an appropriate metaphor for what that position will likely be for the final month of the season: A revolving door.
“What went into the decision was just the opportunity for other people to start getting at-bats as we move forward in September and just playing different people,” Derek Shelton said before the game. “We felt like, you know, we were at that point, organizationally.”
With rosters set to expand to 28 on Sept. 1, the Pirates have several internal options on the 40-man roster who could benefit from playing time in right. You can never rule out a waiver claim or the team selecting the contract of a player, but let’s focus on those who could be called up Wednesday without any roster shakeup. And this exercise excludes Bryan Reynolds, Anthony Alford and Gamel, who were already up in the majors.
Let’s take a look at who could get those playing opportunities in right field down the stretch:
YOSHI TSUTSUGO
Tsutsugo’s brief time with the Pirates has been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he is on the greatest power surge from his American playing career, slashing .333/.407/1.000 with three home runs over his first 27 plate appearances with the Pirates.
The downside is he has struggled mightily in the field. That included misplaying a couple plays Friday night, turning a fly ball off the wall in right into a triple and having a fly ball fall out of his glove on the warning track.
“It’s a challenging place to play,” Shelton said Friday. “The more he plays out there, the better he’ll get at it.”
“We're excited at what he's doing and it's been fun getting to know him,” Ben Cherington said Friday. “Looking forward to seeing him play more the rest of the way."
Tsutsugo is a free agent at the end of the year, but obviously playing well with the Pirates down the stretch would give them an in towards potentially re-signing him. He’s committed to playing in the states, and he could be a much-needed source of power for the Pirates. But would he create enough runs offensively to make up for his glove?
COLE TUCKER
Tucker and the next entry probably fall under the “put up or shut up” category. The 2014 first-round pick -- that makes him the third-longest tenured member of the franchise, behind Jacob Stallings (drafted in 2012) and Chad Kuhl (drafted in 2013) -- has not produced in the majors. With a roster crunch upcoming this winter, can the Pirates really afford to tenure someone who they don’t think can contribute more in the majors than just being depth.
After being left in Bradenton, Fla. in April rather than going to the alternate site, Tucker showed some good plate discipline at Indianapolis, walking 15% of the time, but still posted a pedestrian .223/.350/.373 slash line with six home runs over 263 plate appearances.
It was enough for the Pirates to give him the call in this situation.
“It’s going to be an opportunity for us to take a look at Cole and the things he’s been working on in Indy,” Shelton said.
The Pirates came into the year wanting Tucker to stick at shortstop, but that changed midseason, bouncing him around the diamond again. He’s athletic enough that he could be a good defensive utility player with some speed on the basepaths. But if he can’t hit, it’s hard to envision a scenario where he remains on the team. Some late reps in the majors could be a deciding factor.
JARED OLIVA
A lot of what I said about Tucker applies here as well. Oliva was also left behind in Bradenton to start the year, but shortly after reaching the alternate site, he suffered an oblique injury that sidelined him for a good chunk of the season.
He’s not done well since. With Indianapolis, he has slashed .225/.296/.318 over 142 plate appearances. He’s not stealing as often (just six so far this year), and his cameo in the majors in July didn’t go well, hitting just .175 with two doubles over 43 trips to the plate.
The mechanical work Oliva worked on in Bradenton has continued this season, and during a Pirates road trip to Arizona in July, it looked like he and hitting coach Rick Eckstein were making some progress, but it wasn’t able to be translated into games.
“I’ve been putting in good work down here [in Indianapolis],” Oliva said during a Zoom call earlier this month. “Whenever they feel like I’m ready to take that step and go back up, I’m sure I’ll be ready for the challenge.”
Oliva has some speed and hit potential, but that hasn’t translated in the upper levels. He did win the team MVP award with Altoona in 2019 after a slow start, so maybe things would be different if he had a full, healthy year. But considering the Pirates non-tendered Jason Martin last year, and he was in basically the same boat as Oliva is now, a strong finish would go a long way for him.
HOY PARK
Park was optioned to Indianapolis earlier this week, but he could be recalled either next week or at some point in September.
One of the top performers at Class AAA this season, the Pirates acquired Park in the Clay Holmes trade with the Yankees in late July. Park got a good look in the outfield while with the team, but that was more out of necessity than by design. He can play the outfield, but they want to keep an eye on how he throws when out there.
“We did monitor that, but the one thing we did speak to Hoy about was changing his arm stroke,” Shelton said recently. “I think the one thing you have to be careful of is when guys go to different positions, they change their arm stroke and there is the potential for injury.”
Park struggled in his first look in the majors, but that was just a few weeks. He’ll get more opportunities in 2022, if not sooner.
TUCUPITA MARCANO
I don’t see either of the last two happening, at least as a primary right fielder. The Pirates seem to feel Marcano is being properly challenged in Class AAA, but he has been in the majors already this year with the Padres, so we shouldn’t rule him out completely.
He is slumping in Indianapolis of late -- he was on a 2-for-30 stretch entering play Saturday -- so this could be a simple case of letting someone play through September in the extended AAA season.
Don’t let the slump get you down. The Pirates are high on him, and Baseball America recently ranked him as their No. 7 prospect.
“Going forward, a lot of it for Tuca is just continued strength development,” Cherington said. “Growing into his body, developing as he gets past his really early 20s, getting some of that natural strength and that translating into driving the ball a little bit more, and just being able to stay strong through the length of a season.”
He could profile at a lot of positions, but second base is probably the preferred choice for both him and the organization.
ONEIL CRUZ
Look, this is a wild card. Probably too wild for it to happen. After all, we’re talking about taking a Class AA shortstop who has not appeared in the outfield in any environment besides spring training. And after a forearm injury in July, would the Pirates dare throw him in the outfield?
This is doubtful, at best, but Cruz is already on the roster and 2022 is going to be a critical year for his development since it will most likely be his last option year. Playing through October, either in the majors or Indianapolis, could give him a taste of higher competition for a few weeks.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Adam Wainwright once again shut down the Pirates Saturday, tossing seven scoreless innings.
He did it the same way he always does against the Pirates, using that curveball and changing speeds while hitting his targets.
"He's had the really good curveball all four times he's pitched against us, and just really mixed it in well," Shelton said.
He has now thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings against the Pirates. The last Cardinals pitcher to do that against the Pirates is when Vinegar Bend Mizell tossed 26 1/3 scoreless from 1952-53.
• Steven Brault's second consecutive start against the Cardinals did not go nearly as well as his first, allowing seven runs over three innings, with Edmundo Sosa picking up five RBIs on a pair of triples.
"Getting behind hitters. Throwing the ball down the middle too much. That's pretty much the worst recipe for success you can have," Brault said.
• Chavis injured his right elbow trying to rob Sosa of his second triple, going all out but falling just short:
Sosa's second triple of the game clears 'em! pic.twitter.com/lkOjbIuODU
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 29, 2021
• Here's the full story on Polanco.
Before the game, the Pirates activated Sam Howard from the injured list. He pitched the eighth inning, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk.
Dillon Peters was placed on the 10-day injured list with a low back strain as the corresponding move. That injury popped up after his start Friday and got worse Saturday, which is why the Pirates made the decision.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ben Gamel, LF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Michael Chavis, RF
6. Wilmer Difo, 2B
7. Kevin Newman, SS
8. Michael Pérez, C
9. Steven Brault, LHP
And for Mike Schildt's Cardinals:
1. Tommy Edman, 2B
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Tyler O'Neill, LF
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Yadier Molina, C
6. Dylan Carlson, RF
7. Edmundo Sosa, SS
8. Harrison Bader, CF
9. Adam Wainwright, RHP
THE SYSTEM
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will try to secure a series split Sunday afternoon. Wil Crowe (3-7, 5.46) will take on Kwang Hyun Kim (6-6, 3.27) at 1:05 p.m. DK is going to have things covered at PNC Park.
THE CONTENT
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