Free Agent Fridays: Ben Gamel
One of the biggest question marks for the 2021 Pirates, besides the starting rotation, is who will be in the outfield. There are some locks like Bryan Reynolds and Gregory Polanco, but the third position is a toss-up between Anthony Alford and Jared Oliva, neither of which has played a full MLB season. Ben Cherington has gone on the record to say that he is looking for outfield help, but he has to go with someone who may factor into the Pirate's future plans. That means bringing in a young talent that the Pirates can control for a couple of years while they try and build a winning ball club. He doesn't necessarily have to be an everyday starter, just someone to provide depth for the team in the long-run.
A look at the market shows one of these young, controllable outfielders available in 28-year-old Ben Gamel. The Pirates have gotten a good look at Gamel over the last two seasons as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. He played in a rotating role with them during the 2019 season and earned a full-time spot in 2020 as the team's starting centerfielder. He hasn't really shown much in these shortened seasons, but when given the chance over the course of a full-year he has delivered. He has appeared in over 100 games in three different seasons, and in two of those three seasons had a batting average over .270. It may be worth the Pirates taking a chance to add Gambel, who would be an affordable young outfielder for the future.
Gamel's Past
Gamel has moved around throughout his career, already having played for three different teams at age 28. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2010 MLB draft by the New York Yankees and ended up getting to the Major Leagues by 2016. He appeared in just six games for the Yankees before being traded to the Seattle Mariners in a deal involving three different Minor Leaguers. It was in Seattle that he got his first full-time shot during the 2017 season, and he took the opportunity and ran with it. During that 2017 season, he hit .275 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI in 134 games played for the Mariners. He showed that he has the potential to hit the ball out of the ballpark while hitting for a decent average.
Last season, Gamel played for the Brewers and appeared in 47 of the team's 60-games during the season. His batting average was down to .247 while he hit three home runs and drove in 10 RBI. While his batting average was down, he was hitting the gaps on a regular basis picking up 13 extra-base hits for an extra-base hit percentage of 44%. With the big gaps at PNC Park, that could be an asset for the Pirates if they were to sign Gamel. He isn't a guy who is going to hit 20+ home runs or steal 20+ bases, but he is a nice role player that could help stabilize an otherwise chaotic outfield for the Pirates. Gamel brings a decent bat to the plate, but what he is really known for is his ability to field the ball.
He has not committed an error in the outfield since the 2018 season, playing in just over 981 innings during that span. He splits time between center field and right field but has the ability to play all three outfield positions. Gamel has decent arm strength from the corner outfield positions, with three outfield assists over the last two years, and has decent enough speed to get to the ball. He covered a career-high 33.6 feet per second in 2020, which would be near the top of the Pirates team. He put up -1 outs above average in 2020, but supplemental that with two outs above average in 2019. Gamel would bring with him a decent bat, good glove, and room to grow with this Pirates team.
Signing Gamel
Going into this off-season, Gamel was one of the non-tender candidates for the Milwaukee Brewers. Gamel was set to make nearly two million dollars in 2021, and the Brewers weren't prepared to pay that for a back-up outfielder. So, they ended up non-tendering Gamel making him a free agent for the first time in his career. Given Gamel's low batting average in 2020, the Pirates should be able to get a decent price for the outfielder. Ge plays good defense, but his strikeouts are his biggest question mark moving forward. He has always walked a good amount, with a career walk percentage of 9.1%, but his strikeouts have been a problem.
2020 was his worst year yet as he went down swinging 30.7% of the time in 40 games played. This would be the drawback of signing Gamel, and something the Pirates coaching staff would have to work on. With an opportunity for Gamel to be an everyday outfielder in Pittsburgh, it might light a fire under him to get ready for the season. Gamel would create a three-man race for the final outfield spot between Jared Oliva, Anthony Alford, and Gamel. Competition is always a good thing and can help bring the best out of these young players. If worst comes to worst, and Gamel performs well in the first half of the season, the Pirates could always flip him for young Minor League talent.
Gamel is by no means an organization changing player, but he fits a role that the Pirates need to fill. As of now, Alford is the front runner for the third outfield job, and that would put Oliva on the bench. With Oliva only having played as high as Double-A, signing Gamel would give him a chance to go to Triple-A and continue developing before making the full-time jump to the MLB. Gamel is another blue-collar type player, much like Joe Musgrove was when he came in, and could quickly become a fan favorite in Pittsburgh. He is an affordable young outfielder, who could help provide depth to a Pirates team desperately in need of some depth.
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