SAN DIEGO — The Pirates are going outside the organization to address some of their ongoing injury woes, specifically at first base, as they’re acquiring Yu Chang from the Cleveland Guardians for cash.
Chang, 26, was designated for assignment on Thursday. He has played parts of four years in Cleveland, hitting .208 with a .637 OPS in 131 games, with his best year coming in 2021.
Chang played 89 games that season and hit .228 with a .693 OPS, compiling 14 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 39 RBIs and 32 runs scored.
Although the Pirates’ biggest need comes at first base, with Yoshi Tsutsugo out and Michael Chavis dealing with an elbow/forearm injury, Chang has been a capable, versatile defender throughout his career.
He’s been worth 8 Outs Above Average, per Baseball Savant, and is capable of playing all four infield positions.
Chang has been able to get on base in the past, walking more than 13% of the time in 2019 and 2020, but that number dropped to 4.4% last season. In four games (10 at-bats) thus far in 2022, Chang was hitless and struck out seven times.
To make room for Chang, the Pirates designated Cole Tucker for assignment, a surprising move given his history as a first-round pick but also not when you look at production.
Tucker has hit just .211 in 154 MLB games, including .175 across 18 this season. This season in Class AAA Indianapolis, Tucker was hitting just .135 in 10 games.
DFA’ing Tucker doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone. Another team would have to claim Tucker for that to happen. He could clear waivers and return to the Pirates, although DFA'ing a player obviously isn't a vote of confidence.
The acquisition of Chang comes amid a curious time for Pirates prospect promotion.
About an hour or so before the Post-Gazette learned the Pirates would be acquiring Chang, they put Ben Gamel on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Given what happened to Gamel on Saturday, that part wasn’t surprising.
He stole second, felt something grab and left the field clutching his left hamstring. In the clubhouse postgame, Gamel was in obvious discomfort. The curious part was with how the Pirates backfilled Gamel’s roster spot.
Not with an outfielder such as 2018 first-round pick Travis Swaggerty, who has hit .345 with an .887 OPS in 15 May games. Or Canaan Smith-Njigba or Ji-Hwan Bae, who have both enjoyed extended on-base streaks. Bae has .347 with a 1.075 OPS over his past 25 games. Smith-Njigba, meanwhile, has been on base in an International League-best 28 games.
Instead of promoting one of those two, or even Mason Martin or Oneil Cruz, two more top offensive prospects, the Pirates decided to promote Hoy Park, who was hitting .229 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in 26 games with Class AAA Indianapolis.
The move was made for a couple reasons, assistant general manager Kevan Graves said while pinch-hitting for general manager Ben Cherington on his 93.7 The Fan Sunday radio show — none of which are likely to please those fans eager to see a player better than Park get a chance.
Asked why the Pirates went with Park and not, say, Martin, since their top two first basemen are hurt, Graves said the Pirates had images taken of Chavis’ left elbow/forearm/wrist, and they’re encouraged by the prognosis. They believe he should be back “sooner than later.”
Graves also hinted at the Chang move.
“Park’s not a first baseman but there’s some defensive versatility there,” Graves said. “We’re hopeful or anticipating that Michael Chavis will be back much sooner rather than later. We should have a capable first baseman there. We also are working on determining a solution that may include bringing on in some form or fashion a player that could potentially play first base very capably as well.
“We’re working through a number of scenarios. I think Hoy being on the [40-man] roster ... still a lot of things that we like about him, the defensive versatility certainly, and the ability to get him here today. We’re gonna continue to assess that going into Los Angeles and see whether any sort of further roster adjustments are necessary.”
As for Gamel, Graves also said the Pirates hope and expect his recovery to be on the shorter side as well. After making another incredible catch Saturday, the outfielder is hitting .257 with a .736 OPS.
This story was updated at 9:40 a.m. May 30.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: May 29, 2022, 8:23 p.m.
Updated: May 30, 2022, 1:38 p.m.
