TORONTO — With free agency opening across Major League Baseball on Thursday evening, the Pirates finally had the opportunity to address what was a black hole in their lineup this past season: first base.
No team was worse, and the Pirates ran away with a race no team wanted to win, their first baseman producing a collective -3 Wins Above Replacement (per FanGraphs) and a 59 wRC+, an advanced stat where 100 represents league average.
The Pirates couldn’t smell, see or hear average from where they sat with offensive production at first last season, and they’re obviously hoping Ji-Man Choi — who struggled mightily over the final three months of 2022 — can enjoy a bounce-back season.
Amid a flurry of roster moves, the Pirates acquired Choi from the Rays for minor league pitcher Jack Hartman, a 24-year-old who pitched to a 6.27 ERA and 5.61 FIP this past season with Low-A Bradenton. Considering Choi is projected to make roughly $4.5 million in his final trip through arbitration, one would think he’ll get the bulk of the reps there.
Time will tell whether what the Pirates did was smart, but it did come at a strange time, amid strange circumstances. Why not wait, survey the market some and perhaps attempt to lure Carlos Santana or Jesus Aguilar here? Were the Pirates not convinced any of the top free agent options would want to play in Pittsburgh? Maybe.
Instead, the Pirates acquired someone who hit just .188 with a .617 OPS in 60 games from July 1 through the end of the regular season and someone who was viewed as easily replaceable by his former employer.
A knock against Choi has been his propensity for striking out, with a career rate of 25.6%. That number sat at 29.4% last season, 30.9% during the second-half slide. Most concerning: Choi hit just .190 and slugged .355 against four-seam fastballs, a pitch anyone with some semblance of power should be expected to hit.
There are some kernels of good news, however. With baseball’s changing rules for next season, Choi will escape the shift, which is probably a good thing for him. The left-handed hitter saw shifts 83.9% of the time in 2022, and they knocked his weighted on-base average from .415 (without) to .304 when defenders could align in a more coordinated way.
Per Statcast, Choi ranked in the 93rd percentile in average exit velocity and the 88th percentile when it came to hard-hit percentage, meaning he did make solid contact. He just didn’t make enough of it. Choi’s strikeout rate and whiff percentage both ranked in the ninth percentile, while his average sprint speed (eighth percentile) and arm (fourth) were also disastrous.
Oddly, Choi was worth plus-2 Outs Above Average per Baseball Savant, placing him in the 77th percentile, and he also has a .994 fielding percentage in 348 games at first base since making his MLB debut in 2016.
There has been some production over time, too. Choi has a lifetime OPS of .773 over a seven-year career with the Angels, Yankees, Brewers and Rays. He’s played in the postseason, too. He sees pitches, gets on base and has a 116 wRC+ and 115 OPS+ — again, 100 is league average for both — throughout his career, meaning there’s at least something there.
The Pirates simply must hope that it still exists. That they can bring out some of the best in Choi and they’re not saddled with whatever it was that the Rays got from him over the final three months last season.
Other roster moves
Also on Thursday, the Pirates reinstated Canaan Smith-Njigba, Colin Holderman, Yerry De Los Santos, Blake Cederlind and Max Kranick from the 60-day injured list.
To clear space, they removed Peter Solomon, Beau Sulser, Jason Delay, Cederlind, Eric Stout and Zack Collins. All except Stout and Collins cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Those two have become free agents, setting the Pirates’ 40-man roster at exactly that number.
Cederlind, 26, has not pitched since 2020, when he made his MLB debut and wound up appearing in four games, allowing a pair of earned runs while striking out four. His 2021 was lost to a full UCL reconstruction, then a series of setbacks in 2022, culminating in surgery this past August to remove loose bodies from the back of Cederlind’s right elbow.
It’s easy to see what the Pirates like in Cederlind, who went 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA with 16 walks and 42 strikeouts in 31 games (45 2/3 innings) for Double-A Altoona in 2019. The velocity flirts with triple-digits. The right-hander also has plus secondary stuff. Cederlind was also expected to come back as a starter in 2022 after adding about 15 pounds last offseason.
De Los Santos, 24, made his MLB debut this past season and appeared in 26 games, pitching to a 4.91 ERA with 11 walks, 26 strikeouts, a .224 batting average against and 1.29 WHIP in 25 2/3 innings.
A regular role in the bullpen was solidified through a 52.8% ground ball rate before De Los Santos had his season cut short due to a lat strain in his throwing shoulder.
Holderman, 27, was acquired for Daniel Vogelbach and was lost after just nine games due to soreness in his right shoulder. After making his MLB debut this past season with the Mets, Holderman went 5-0 with a 3.81 ERA across both stops, walking 14 and striking out 24.
The numbers in Pittsburgh — 6.75 ERA in 10 2/3 innings — were skewed by a disastrous outing Aug. 24 against the Braves, when Holderman allowed five earned runs without recording an out.
Kranick, 25, had Tommy John surgery in early June and likely won’t pitch in 2023. He pitched in just two games this past season, delivering five scoreless innings while flashing another uptick in fastball velocity. The Scranton native made nine MLB starts in 2021, going 2-3 with a 6.28 ERA in 38 2/3 innings, with a 4.64 FIP.
Smith-Njigba, added to the 40-man roster for the first time last offseason, fractured his right wrist and went on the 60-day IL on June 17, after just three games and five at-bats.
At Triple-A Indianapolis in 2022, Smith-Njigba hit .277 with a .795 OPS in 52 games, showing patience at the plate that resulted in 33 walks and 52 strikeouts.
