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Pittsburgh Pirates News: Bucs Sign Veteran Infielder

By Vincent Spallone

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Dee Strange-Gordon (6) fields a ground ball off the bat of Matt Chapman in the second inning of the MLB Cactus League Spring Training game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., on Monday, March 1, 2021.Cincinnati Reds At Oakland Athletics Spring Training
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Dee Strange-Gordon (6) fields a ground ball off the bat of Matt Chapman in the second inning of the MLB Cactus League Spring Training game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., on Monday, March 1, 2021.Cincinnati Reds At Oakland Athletics Spring Training /
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Wednesday afternoon the Pittsburgh Pirates made a signing that could possibly be hinting that they are close to getting a trade done that would spell the end of Adam Frazier’s career in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to sign second baseman Dee Strange-Gordon to a minor league deal. Strange-Gordon opted out of his deal with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday afternoon and then turned right around to sign a deal to stay in the NL Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This is his fourth straight NL Central team that he has been on this year as before he was with the Cubs, he played a few Triple-A games with the Brewers. Then, during Spring Training he was with the Cincinnati Reds. Strange-Gordon is slated to start off his Pirate tenure in Triple-A Indianapolis but probably will not have a long stint there.

After only getting 75 at-bats in 2020 with the Seattle Mariners MLB squad, Strange-Gordon has only been getting at-bats in Triple-A to get him back into his groove. He has been hitting .259 with 2 home runs and an OPS of .660. Last year in the MLB, he only averaged .200 and had a wRC+ all the way down to 42.

While these numbers may not look great, especially for Triple-A in a player’s 13th year of pro ball, Strange-Gordon will not be staying in Triple-A for long. That is the case since the Pittsburgh Pirates more than likely only signed him to help fill the gap that will be created if/when they trade away Adam Frazier at the deadline.

The Pirates are in the midst of their rebuilding process and are in no place to compete as they are currently 18 games out of first in the division and in line to get the third overall pick next season, so Strange-Gordon is a great fit to plug in at second to help bridge the gap between the time Frazier is traded and when the next prospect is ready to take over the full-time job.

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This may end up being Rodolfo Castro, who was called up from Double-A Altoona on Tuesday and led a ninth-inning rally to score the walk-off run against the Braves or last year’s first-round pick Nick Gonzalez who is a year or two away from stepping onto the field at PNC Park.

But, hey, who knows maybe Strange-Gordon will surprise everyone and have a bounceback year like John Nogowski is starting to have in his brief start to his Pittsburgh career.

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