Pittsburgh Pirates: Could Alen Hanson Return?

The Pittsburgh Pirates let go of a certain utility type player at the beginning of last season.  Could they look to bring him back?

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates let go of utility player Alen Hanson.  Hanson was long regarded as one of the top prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates system.  He and Gregory Polanco broke out in 2012 and led the West Virginia Power in almost all the offensive categories at the time.  While in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, Hanson played shortstop and brought an interesting speed and pop combination that drew comparisons to a young Jose Reyes.

However, things started to go south for Hanson as he worked his way up the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system.  His overall numbers were still solid, but he started to really struggle in the field.  He also saw his strikeout rate start to rise, which was a major concern.  Then in 2014, he found himself benched for not hustling.  It seemed that Hanson may never reach the potential that many thought he once had.

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally gave him a small cup of coffee in the big leagues at the end of the 2016 season.  He hit .226/.273/.258, but it was only in 27 games during September.  The Bucs brought him north with the big league club in 2017, but he did not produce much and only hit .193 in his first 37 games.  The Bucs finally cut ties with Hanson, designating him for assignment.  He was picked up by the Chicago White Sox and did not produce much more there.

However, last year the former top 100 prospect had an opportunity to play almost every day with the San Francisco Giants. He appeared in 110 games and posted a decent .252 batting average with a .425 slugging.  He had eight home runs to go along with 17 doubles and five triples.  Meanwhile, he played in left field, right field, second base, third base, and shortstop.

The Giants brought Hanson back to start this year but sent him to Toronto in an early season trade as part of the Kevin Pillar deal.  He got off to a poor start with Toronto, hitting just .163 in 18 games.  The Jays, who are going through a prospect youth movement, decided to designate Hanson for assignment and put him on waivers.

The Pittsburgh Pirates could consider bringing Hanson back.  Hanson was a player they invested a lot of time and resources in for many years.  They lost him for nothing last year and could try to get him back on track.  Furthermore, with Pablo Reyes struggling big time to start the year the Bucs may want to turn to a familiar player who can fill in the “ultimate” utility role.  While Hanson will not help this team all that much, with him being available and Reyes struggling, it would be a very Pittsburgh Pirates thing to do.