Pittsburgh Pirates: Debating What to Do With Kevin Newman

Since going down with injury, the Pittsburgh Pirates have called upon many talented middle infield prospects, leaving Kevin Newman positionless when he returns. So what happens next?

Kevin Newman has served as the Pittsburgh Pirates primary shortstop since 2019. He entered this season as the team’s starting shortstop, but an early-season injury has kept him out almost the entirety of 2022.

Since Newman’s injury, many of the team’s prospects have stepped up to fill his shoes. Tucupita Marcano and Diego Castillo have been the team’s answer to the middle infield in the last few weeks. Yu Chang and Hoy Park have also been given reps up the middle, and Liover Peguero made his debut.

Now with Oneil Cruz back in the majors, the Pirate middle infield is a crowded bunch. Newman is likely the odd man out when he returns. The Pittsburgh  Pirates aren’t going to play him over Marcano or Castillo at second base, so where do the Pirates and Newman go from here?

Newman was a top-tier defender at shortstop last season. After grading out as a negative defender in the first two years of his career, the shortstop posted +7 defensive runs saved, +7.6 UZR/150, and +4 outs above average in 2021. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove but lost out to San Francisco Giant shortstop Brandon Crawford.

While Newman was a quality middle infield defender, he was one of the league’s worst hitters. Newman turned in just a .226/.265/.309 batting line, .249 wOBA, and 54 wRC+. Newman ranked last in two of the three triple-slash categories (OBP and slugging percentage) and subsequently was last in the league in OPS. He also ranked last in wOBA and wRC+.

Newman has become a spare piece to the Pirate roster. He’s not going to take playing time away from any of the young guys, and he’s only marginally better than Josh VanMeter, and Yu Chang. Heck, even Hoy Park hasn’t done terrible over the past few weeks. He has a .804 OPS since being recalled on June 14th.

So, what options do the Pittsburgh Pirates have with Newman?

The Bucs could keep him around as an in-case-of-emergency option. There’s no such thing as too much depth, and Newman provides a quality glove at shortstop. The Pirates can keep him stashed away at Triple-A. Newman has the athleticism to play the outfield if the Pirates wanted to make him a multi-position utility man. The downside is that the Pirates would have to keep him on the 40-man roster. It’s also not as if Park, Marcano, and Ji-Hwan Bae a similar skillset, but with a higher ceiling Would the Pirates be better off using that roster spot for something else other than utility depth? Possibly so.

If the Pirates find that roster spot more worthwhile, they could always explore the trade market. At this point in the year, a handful of teams are looking for infield depth. The Minnesota Twins just lost top prospect Royce Lewis for the year. Jorge Polanco is also on their injured list. The Los Angeles Angels just saw Anthony Rendon undergo season-ending surgery. The San Diego Padres still have Fernando Tatis Jr. on the injured list and will lose Manny Machado temporarily after spraining his ankle.

Obviously, no team will view Newman as a final solution to injuries, but a team might be willing to give up a lottery ticket prospect to improve their overall depth. The Pirates have plenty of quality middle infield depth but little quality depth behind the plate. They might find a low-cost catcher if they dangle Newman. Maybe a reliever with upside at most. Regardless of what the Pirates decide to do with Newman, it should at least be something on the backburner.