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Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential Designated Hitters in 2022
Now that it is official that the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of the National League will have the designated hitter in 2022 what options will the Pirates have for the position?
There is still plenty of unknowns about what the new CBA between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player’s Association will look like. Hell, after all, the two sides still have yet to reach an agreement, which means that as of this writing the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of baseball remain in a work stoppage.
Thursday afternoon MLB commissioner Rob Manfred did reveal one detail that will be in the new CBA. What was this detail? Well, starting this season the universal designated hitter will arrive. This means that the National League will adopt the DH in 2022 and, unlike its appearance in 2020, it is not going to go away.
This means that the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of the National League will now have to figure out what they are going to do at DH in 2022. The Pirates will have a few different options and we will delve into those today.
Yoshi Tsutsugo
Earlier this offseason the Pittsburgh Pirates re-signed Yoshi Tsutsugo after he spent the last month and half of 2021 in Pittsburgh. Tsutsugo can play first base and right field, right now he may be penciled in to start at first base for the Pirates. That said, Tsutsugo certainly will not be mistaken for a plus defender at either of those positions any time soon.
When the Pirates re-signed Tsutsugo it was speculated a driving force behind it was the belief that the NL would have the DH in 2022. Now that the universal DH is official the player that makes most sense for the Pirates is Tsutsugo.
As was stated above the left-handed hitting Tsutsugo struggles defensively. He also brings plus power to the table and should be in the heart of the Pirate lineup. These are both traits you will typically find in a designated hitter.
If Tsutsugo is the team’s DH next season it will create a question mark about who will be at first base. However, it would not be a surprise to see the Pittsburgh Pirates look to add first base help when the works stoppage ends. Regardless of what shakes out at first base, Tsutsugo is a prime candidate to DH this upcoming season.
Oneil Cruz
Odds are that Oneil Cruz, who FanGraphs now ranks as the top prospect in the Pirate farm system, will begin the 2022 season at Triple-A Indianapolis. If the new CBA fixes baseball’s current service times rules then the door could be cracked open for Cruz to start the season on the active roster.
All of that said, at some point early in the season Cruz is likely to become a mainstay in the Pirate lineup. While he is a shortstop by trait many people have long believed that would not be his long-term home due to his 6-foot-7 frame.
With his power potential and lack of a natural defensive position Cruz appears to be a prime candidate to be a designated hitter long-term. The DH life could now begin for Cruz as early as this season.
The reason Cruz is such highly touted prospect is due to his sky high ceiling as a power hitter. Whenever Cruz arrives full-time in Pittsburgh it would not be a surprise to see the Pirates put Cruz as the team’s designated hitter and just let him focus on hitting.
It’s simple, allow Cruz to be your DH. Let his mash. Profit.
Designated hitter by committee
The Pittsburgh Pirates could rotate players at the DH position as well. Let’s say Tsutsugo does settle in as the starter at first base, the team could then look to rotate other hitters at the DH position.
Assuming Kevin Newman still opens the season as the team’s starting shortstop, we covered earlier in the offseason how second base could also become a by committee position. This could have an impact on the DH spot.
Players such as Hoy Park, Diego Castillo, Michael Chavis, Tucupita Marcano, and Rodolfo Castro could all see starts at second base. However, this does create a scenario where there are more players to go around than at-bats available. This could lead to these players also getting reps at DH. Tsutsugo as the DH could also impact this group, as it would likely make Chavis the primary starter at first base.
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While Tsutsugo may be the best fit for DH the lack of any other real first base options could lead to the DH by committee approach. Sure, Chavis could play first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it is far from clear if his bat should be in a MLB lineup on a daily basis.
By going DH at committee the Pirates could simply play the hot hand. This would allow them to continue to get which hitter is the hottest at the moment in the lineup, while also giving players such as Chavis, Park, Castillo, Castro, and Marcano enough ABs between DH/first base/second base to determine which ones could have big futures with the Pirates and which may not be parts of the long-term plans.