The Pittsburgh Pirates made a roster move, while making use of having a player eligible for the 60-day injured list.
On Wednesday they acquired Texas Rangers utility player Mark Mathias in exchange for a player to be named later.
At 28-years-old, Mathias has bounced around the field, playing every position except catcher throughout his career, although he has spent the majority of his time at second base in the majors.
He ranked as high 17th on Cleveland’s top 30 prospects on MLB Pipeline, getting good grades on his hitting ability, but there are questions about his defensive ability and arm, especially now after two shoulder surgeries.
He had a career .771 OPS in the minors, with 37 home runs and 55 stolen bases across 2,116 plate appearances.
Mathias actually put up some decent numbers with the Rangers last season, hitting five home runs and three doubles in 24 games (161 wRC+).
Now added into the mix, it gives the Pirates an extra right-handed option at multi-positions, as well as providing more competition as well.
Spring training numbers may not matter, but it’s still not good to see the Pirates near the bottom in so many offensive categories already.
So he could bring a little added pop of the bench should he make the roster, it’s just a question on just how he fits into the fold.
He graded out positive defensively on Fangraphs, Baseball Reference and Baseball Savant at second base, but nowhere else. Also, if there are questions about his arm after two surgeries, he could be a lot more limited than what his experience suggests.
This move may be something to try and spark some of the players competing for time at second base.
Rodolfo Castro hasn’t been bad, leading the team in RBI right now, but he is just 4-for-20, and 80% of those runs he’s driven in came off one hit. He’s also struck out eight times in 20 plate appearances.
There hasn’t been much going on with the bats behind him either, at least when it comes to players on the 40-man roster. Tucupita Marcano is just 1-for-10, and Ji-Hwan Bae is 1-for-14 with five strikeouts.
Neither has really hit for the power that Mathias has in the upper levels, as he finished with 28 extra-base hits (15 home runs) in 328 plate appearances last year across Triple-A and the majors.
The Pirates have plenty of names in the mix for several spots on the major league roster, with no one really jumping out, just yet. So they did what they had to do to try and shake things up. Maybe a sign that they aren’t just going to sit around and wait for things to happen, but instead they will be more proactive now.
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
**Spring Training Recap: Orioles 7, Pirates 4
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Pirates Make First Rounds Of Spring Training Cuts In case you missed it from yesterday
**Pirates DVR: Mitch Keller Cutter, Lolo Sanchez Home Run, Ji-Hwan Bae Defense
**Jarlin Garcia and Termarr Johnson Injury Updates Not the best news for either, though Johnson is only missing a little more time than previously mentioned
**World Baseball Classic Recap: Tsung-Che Cheng Collects Three Hits in His First Game The first day of the WBC saw a big game from a top infield prospect
**Pirates Acquire Mark Mathias From the Rangers
Song of the Day
Today’s Lineup
Pirates are at home today against the Detroit Tigers. 1:05 PM start time. Game is televised.
In Bradenton vs. the Tigers.
