Jared Triolo's Gold Glove win shows Pirates must find him a 2025 role

One of the biggest uncertainities on the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster is their infield picture entering 2025. After Oneil Cruz moved to center field, Isiah Kiner-Falefa became the daily shortstop, but his bat lacked in that everyday role.

With the way the Pirates payroll sits now, Kiner-Falefa is the fourth-highest paid player on the Pirates, so it is likely he keeps his starting spot at shortstop, despite his struggles.

Kiner-Falefa's abilities should put him on the bench as a utility guy, but with the price attached, that may not happen. Complicating matters, a younger player on the Pirates showed similar traits in 2024, which resulted in this player winning a significant defensive award.

Jared Triolo, who the Pirates did not have to surrender assets to acquire last summer, was just named the NL's Utility Gold Glove Award winner, edging out Kiké Hernández of the Dodgers and Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals. He's the second Pirate in two years to earn the honor -- and, after watching Ke'Bryan Hayes' 2024 season, that might not be a good thing, but we digress.

Pirates utility-man Jared Triolo wins the Gold Glove for utility players, giving him a strong opportunity to find a spot on 2024 team.

Triolo winning the Gold Glove helps build his case to earn a roster spot in 2025. He did not have a great showing in 2024 in terms of offense, but his glove has proven to be more than capable of helping generate wins and preventing runs scoring; he notched a 7 DRS at multiple positions last summer.

Last season, Triolo had a batting average of .216 with nine home runs, driving in 46. His wRC+ was below league average at 72 and his OPS sat at .611. Those are not numbers fans typically get excited about, but his impressive defensive numbers provided significant value.

Triolo saw most of his innings at third base. He played 527 at that position, which led to him saving two of his defensive runs and accumulating two outs above average. He also saw a signifcant amount of playing time at second base (374.2 innings), saved six defensive runs and had one out above average. He also played shortstop, first base, and right field.

This major accomplishment in Triolo's career is definitely going to boost his chances of making the Opening Day roster in 2025. His defensive value can definitely help prevent runs late in games, which can contribute to winning. He is not quite starter material, but his glove helps Pittsburgh out a lot.