Pirates taking part in the 'quick' sport by having Jared Triolo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa swap positions – TribLIVE.com

Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo turns a double play over the Reds’ Tyler Stephenson on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, at PNC Park.
After years of being blocked at third base for the Pittsburgh Pirates by top-of-the-line defenders in baseball, Jared Triolo seen the commerce of Ke’Bryan Hayes as a bittersweet alternative.
Though Triolo is a Gold Glove winner, he’s additionally somebody who research the sport and its finest gamers. Triolo watched intently from the house dugout as 10-time NL Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado took grounders when the St. Louis Cardinals have been on the town, one thing he obtained to do day by day whereas being teammates with Hayes.
“You get to observe top-of-the-line third basemen within the sport simply take floor balls and go about his day,” Triolo stated Hayes. “Hopefully, I can attempt to implement what I’ve been looking forward to the final two to 3 years and go on the market and produce like he did.”
So, it was a little bit of a shock to see Triolo beginning 5 of the previous six video games at shortstop and Isiah Kiner-Falefa switching from quick to 3rd base for six of the previous seven video games for the Pirates.
Their place swap is by design, Pirates common supervisor Ben Cherington stated, in order that they decide whether or not Triolo is an choice at shortstop subsequent season. The 2024 NL Gold Glove utility defender, Triolo has began extra video games at shortstop (17) this season than he has at third base (14), first base (12) or second base (10). However shortstop is the place Triolo has performed the least in his three seasons with the Pirates.
“We all know he’s an awesome defender,” Cherington stated Sunday on his weekly radio present on group flagship 93.7 The Fan. “He’s performed quite a lot of third, he’s performed quite a lot of second previously. He’s had a bit little bit of a possibility at quick. He’s obtained extra this yr, and I feel he’s actually answered the query: Can he play quick? The reply is sure. That doesn’t imply he’s going to be the shortstop subsequent yr. However what it means is we now have some extra confidence within the participant.”
The important thing might be whether or not Triolo can discover consistency on the plate. He’s batting .178 with a .553 OPS this season however has a .267/.371/.333 slash line with two doubles and three RBIs within the 9 video games for the reason that July 31 commerce deadline handed.
“Personally, that’s what I want to emphasize going ahead for the remainder of the season. I’m simply attempting to go up there and have constant at-bats, get on base and rating runs,” stated Triolo, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 1 after three weeks within the minors. “Anytime you’re up right here, it’s a possibility to seek out your position with the group. That’s what I’ve obtained right here, so we’ll see what shakes out. I’m simply attempting to cement a job on this group going ahead … so I’ll make the most of the glove.”
Defensively, the Pirates don’t have any considerations about Triolo. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is a plus defender who ranks within the 89th percentile in vary and 77th percentile in fielding run worth, per Baseball Savant. He had seven defensive runs saved – three every at second and third base and two at first base – however was minus-1 DRS in 154 innings at shortstop getting into Sunday’s sport towards Cincinnati, per Sports activities Data Options.
Maybe the individual most impressed by Triolo’s play at shortstop is his predecessor on the place.
“He’s obtained the dimensions, he’s obtained the arm power to play day by day at shortstop,” stated Kiner-Falefa, who had one DRS in 815 innings over 93 begins. “I can do it at a excessive degree. I feel ‘Tri’ also can do it a excessive degree. He has the pedigree of simply being a baseball participant. The scale and arm power is large. I feel that’s what separates him from different individuals, his arm power.
“He’ll have extra worth, with the ability to play shortstop, to the Pirates. He checks all of the bins. He’s going to get some run to point out what he can do offensively. On the finish of the season, the Pirates are going to should decide. However I feel it is a good alternative for him to get that open run, see if his physique can deal with it and provides them open suggestions for going into subsequent yr.”
Regardless of buying and selling Hayes, who had an MLB-best 65 DRS since 2020, the Pirates have been uniquely positioned to switch him with their alternative of Gold Glove defenders. They’ve used Kiner-Falefa at third base, the place he gained the American League Gold Glove in 2020 whereas with the Texas Rangers, in seven of the previous 11 video games.
“He’s obtained the Gold Glove there – him and Tri each have the {hardware},” Pirates supervisor Don Kelly stated. “They each have dominated within the infield and executed rather well for us.”
Kiner-Falefa referred to as the midseason transfer from shortstop to 3rd base an opportunity to show the worth of his versatility within the last yr of a two-year, $15 million contract, given {that a} potential suitor may view him in his most well-liked position as a super-utility participant.
“It’s a bit bizarre, a bit funky — however that’s what I do finest. Nothing out of the strange. I really feel like I’m again at dwelling,” stated Kiner-Falefa, who hopes to enhance his .337 slugging proportion as his physique will get a break from the defensive calls for of shortstop. “I really feel like I profile as a complete totally different participant once I’m taking part in third in comparison with shortstop. I’m wanting ahead to the chance to showcase that.”
Cherington heaped excessive reward on the “above-average” play at shortstop by Konnor Griffin, the 19-year-old 2024 first-round draft choose who’s ranked the game’s No. 1 general prospect by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. So the Pirates could possibly be searching for somebody to function stopgap on the place till Griffin, who’s starring at Excessive-A Greensboro, is prepared for the foremost leagues.
With Triolo and Liover Peguero anticipated to get many of the taking part in time at shortstop, Kiner-Falefa is treating his time at third base as an audition for the beginning job vacated by Hayes being traded. Kiner-Falefa is open to staying with the Pirates, whether or not it’s at third base or elsewhere.
“That’s the place they want probably the most assist proper now,” Kiner-Falefa stated. “I can’t management that however it is smart for each side. You allow that as much as the agent and the final managers. I see a vivid future for this group. I’m going to do the whole lot I can the remainder of the yr to set them on the suitable path. If I’m right here, nice. If not, I hope I helped them. I really feel like I’m a giant a part of this clubhouse and I’ve taken quite a lot of pleasure in my relationship with these gamers. It might be good to succeed with them. … The match is there. That’s the largest factor, the match. We’ll see what occurs.”
Cherington believes Triolo’s versatility offers the Pirates an opportunity to be artistic relating to addressing offseason additions, the place the precedence might be so as to add a run producer to baseball’s least productive offense.
“As we glance to construct the group in 2026, Triolo taking part in shortstop – or, at the very least, as a part of a shortstop answer – is at the very least an choice that we are able to think about,” Cherington stated. “It opens up the choices now we have when it comes to we’d add again to the infield roster within the offseason, at the very least I might anticipate we might. And it simply helps to know we’ve obtained these choices with Tri as a result of perhaps the very best alternative we discover out there’s a third baseman, perhaps it’s a shortstop, perhaps it’s one thing else. That versatility with Tri can actually assist us out in that manner.”
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