Former Rays prospect who recently hit waivers should be on Pirates’ radar

Depth is always an important part of a team, and represents one glaring need for the current Pirates. It was something they struggled with last year, often turning to unsuitable names after suffering injuries.

Their depth at the infield corners, especially first base, needs to be improved. Luckily, a minor-leaguer who is coming off a quality season at Triple-A, and posted a solid MLB debut, just hit waivers. The Tampa Bay Rays recently designated Austin Shenton for assignment, and he is someone the Pittsburgh Pirates should seriously consider picking up.

Shenton made his Major League debut this past season, but his tenure in the bigs certainly had its ups and downs. The infielder appeared in 19 games with 50 plate appearances. He had nine hits, but six were extra-base hits (five doubles and a home run). Shenton also drew eight walks. However, he K’d 14 times. His wRC+ in that small sample size was 120.

Can Pirates mine talent from ex-Rays IF Austin Shenton?

Shenton also hit well at Triple-A this season. He turned in a .258/.361/.497 triple-slash, providing a ton of pop with 20 homers in just 363 plate appearances, along with a .239 isolated slugging percentage. Shenton drew walks at a healthy 13.2% rate. This culminated in a .377 wOBA and 122 wRC+ for the Rays’ Triple-A team.

Shenton’s numbers are great, but there is one very glaring flaw in his game: he strikes out a ton. Shenton had a 30.3% strikeout rate with a whiff rate of 35.3 last season. This wasn’t just a one-year fluke, either. In 2023, despite vastly superior output with the bat (1.034 OPS, .446 wOBA, 158 wRC+), Shenton struck out 27.7% of the time with a 33% swing-and-miss rate.

Shenton split his season between first base and third base. When the Rays promoted him to the Major Leagues, he only saw time at first and designated hitter. He is not considered a great defender, but he has a strong enough arm to hold down the hot corner from time to time. He has some minimal experience at second base and the outfield corners, but hasn’t started a game at the keystone since 2021 and hasn’t played any outfield since 2019.

Will Shenton fix the Pirates’ first base issues? Probably not. But is he a decent depth corner infielder to stash at Triple-A? Yes he is. Shenton would definitely be an upgrade over Jake Lamb, given he’s younger, has more upside, and is coming off a much more promising previous season than when the Pirates signed Lamb last offseason. Having decent depth is important so the Pirates aren’t left stranded in the event of an injury, and adding Shenton would be a decent attempt to prevent that.