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Pittsburgh Pirates: Options of What to do With Kevin Newman
Shortstop Kevin Newman’s future is far from clear. What options do the Pittsburgh Pirates have with him next season?
One of the positive stories from the Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 season was Kevin Newman’s defensive breakout. After spending the first few years of his career as one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league, Newman put on a display of excellent glovework at the middle infield spot this past year.
Newman racked up +7 DRS, a +7.6 UZR/150, and was in the top 82nd percentile of outs above average. Newman ranked 6th among all qualified shortstops in DRS but was the second-best NL shortstop per the measurement. However, his +7.6 UZR/150 was the best among all shortstops.
But there was also a massive downside to Newman’s season. He was one of the worst batters in major league baseball last season. Newman posted just a .226/.265/.309 line, .249 wOBA, and 54 wRC+. He ranked last in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ among all hitters with at least 500 plate appearances. Just to show how bad his season was, the second-worst batter in the league, David Fletcher had a 70 wRC+, making him 14% better than Newman.
Newman will be going into his age-28 season. The Pirates have multiple avenues they can take with the middle infielder. So what do each of those options look like and what are the pros and cons of each.
Trading Newman
There are still a handful of teams looking for shortstops. The New York Yankees are still in the market so they can move Gleyber Torres to second base. The Houston Astros will also explore their available options. The Philadelphia Phillies may also look to improve the situation over Didi Gregorious.
The problem is that shortstop was a massive strength of this offseason’s free-agent class. Before the lockout, Corey Seager and Javier Baez signed. Other shortstop capable options including Marcus Semien and Chris Taylor also signed before the transaction freeze. One of the more quality low-cost options is Freddy Galvis who headed overseas. The big fish, Carlos Correa is still a free agent, as is Trevor Story, another high-end free agent. Even then, there is still a myriad of solid low-cost options such as Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar, and Jose Iglesias.
Newman also isn’t the only shortstop on the trade market. The Texas Rangers are now more than open to moving Isaiah Kiner-Falefa now that they signed both Seager and Semien. The Tampa Bay Rays may also look to move Taylor Walls for pitching given that they have two very high-quality middle infielders with former uber-prospect Wander Franco and slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe. The Arizona Diamondbacks may also look to move Gold Glove shortstop Nick Ahmed.
The option to trade Newman isn’t the greatest, but one to keep an open mind about. Unlike when they traded Jacob Stallings, Newman wasn’t the only starting-caliber player on the market, both free agent and trade market. The Pirates pretty much would have to wait until most of the free agents, as well as some of the trade candidates, move. However, I wouldn’t completely rule out a trade.
Opening Day Starter
Right now, Kevin Newman would be the Opening Day shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. With service time still a thing, the Pirates have no reason to start Oneil Cruz or Diego Castillo, the organization’s best MLB-ready middle infield options, on the 26-man roster.
Now that’s not to say that Newman is a great option, but a good enough placeholder for the rest of the Pirates’ middle infielders. You can live with Newman’s bat for a month until the boatload of middle infield prospects is ready. Cruz Castillo are just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s also not to say that Newman would keep the position. As I stated earlier, he’d be a solid enough placeholder. He wouldn’t be the team’s starting shortstop for the entirety of the 2022 season. With the number of middle infielders the Pittsburgh Pirates have, Newman doesn’t have to be great for the time being. Continue playing him for the first few weeks of the season, then get the prospects up.
The biggest downside is that you still have to live with his awful bat as a regular part of the line-up for a month. Sure, he might be good enough, but just barely. If his bat regresses even further or his defense takes a step back from last season, you’re stuck with a well below replacement level player starting for the first few weeks of the season.
Utility Man
Newman opening the year as the Pirates starting shortstop only works if service time isn’t resolved in the new collective bargaining agreement. So what if the Pirates want to keep Newman around, but can start either Cruz or Castillon on the 26-man opening day roster? Well, they could move him into a super-utility role.
Newman is an excellent defender at shortstop. That kind of defense would also play well at second base. He’d also be usable at third base if the Pirates had to play him there. Newman, being a shortstop, is quite athletic.
The Pittsburgh Pirates could rotate Newman as one of their outfield options. He was in the top 83rd percentile of sprint speed, clocking in with a 28.4 feet/second mark, so he has the speed to cover plenty of grass.
If the Pirates want to keep Newman around on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, this would be the option they’d likely approach. Newman is athletic enough to move around if the Pirates wanted him to. His defensive improvements show he can make the needed adjustments to play the most physically demanding position that isn’t catcher.
But while he can make the adjustments and play the most non-catcher physically demanding position well, that isn’t a guarantee for other positions, especially in the outfield. If Newman can’t field, then you have a no-hit utility man who’s only good at one position.
Potentially DFA
Now I want to preface this and say that the chances the Pittsburgh Pirates designate Newman for assignment are very, very slim. However, I wouldn’t say the chances are absolute zero. Newman is easily replaceable. The shortstop market is crowded, so the Pirates wouldn’t get all that much in return right now.
So why DFA Newman? Well, for one, even with Diego Castillo and Oneil Cruz coming up, the Pirates have about 5 other players that can play shortstop. Cole Tucker, Rodolfo Castro, and Hoy Park all have a ton of experience at shortstop. The Pirates don’t have to start the year with Newman on the 26-man, or 40-man rosters.
Newman has set such a low bar that moving on from him wouldn’t massively affect the Pirate current or future state, if at all. Newman has a .570 OPS through his last 726 trips to the plate. As much as Tucker may not be a good hitter, he has a career of .602 OPS and .640 OPS last season. The chances that one of Tucker, Castro, or Park could replicate that, at the very least, is very possible.
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But designating Newman for assignment pretty much forgoes the possibility of trade and potentially getting back anything of value. Sure, the return for Newman might just include salary relief and a lottery ticket prospect, but that’s better than nothing. Outright releasing him means you still have to pay his salary for the season.