The Case To Move Evans to Second and Frazier to The Outfield
The long-awaited return of star rookie infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes is upon us. The rookie has been out since April 3rd with a wrist sprain and has been working his way back. He has been doing fielding and base running drills the entire time, but yesterday he finally got to pick up a bat and take some swings. While he was not back for the series with San Diego, it is very likely that he comes off the Injured List sometime this weekend for the series in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has always been a house of horrors for the Pirates, and hopefully getting Hayes back will give a boost to the lineup. However, it also means that there are some tough roster decisions ahead for the Pirates.
One of these decisions that have to be made is what should the Pirates do with infielder Phillip Evans. In Hayes's absence, Evans has mostly been filling in at third base but has had his time in the outfield as well. However, with Hayes coming back, third base is now full and the Pirates have to find a way to keep Evans's hot bat in the lineup. There are several different ways the Pirates could do this, but the one we are looking at today would bring Evans back to his roots. When he was signed as an amateur free agent in 2011, his primary position was shortstop, but he could also play second base. Our plan moves Evans to second base and sends Adam Frazier out to left field, a position he filled a lot last season. If you read our article about Hayes's return earlier today, we got into this topic a little bit, but now we dive into this new role proposal for Evans and see if it would work in the end.
Moving Evans Back to Second Base
While second base was Evans's primary position throughout the Minor Leagues, he hasn't seen much playing time there yet at the Major League level. He has played just 19.1 innings at the position and has yet to commit an error during that time. However, as we said before a lot of Evans's work at the position has come in the Minor Leagues, where it was his best defensive position. He had a career .962 fielding percentage in over 1200 Minor League innings at the position, committing just 26 errors and helping to turn 96 double plays. He was able to play two innings at the position during Spring Training and was perfect in his two innings of work picking up two assists.
Defensively, Evans is about as average as it gets and handles everywhere he plays pretty well. When combining the four positions he has played so far in 2021, Evans is good for one out above average, and has a success rate added of 3% in the field. He isn't going to be making the spectacular plays, but he will make all the plays that need to be made over the course of a game. While range isn't a huge factor at second base, Evans does have ok speed to cover ground in the field. His sprint speed so far is 27.6 feet per second, which ranks fourth among his peers across Major League Baseball. With second base requiring slightly more speed than third base, this is a move that could benefit Evans.
However, the problem with moving Evans to second base is he would have to worry about shaking off the rust. He hasn't played second base in a Major League game since 2018, and it might take a short adjustment period. However, the Pirates currently have a Gold Glove Nominated second baseman there so you have to weigh if the risk is worth it. It is easier said than done to just change positions in a season, but Evans's bat is hot right now, and having both him and Hayes in the lineup could really help. Hayes has been a hot hitter since his call-up in September of lazy season, and Evans is showing that he can handle the bat at the Major League level. Having both guys available in the Pirates infield presents a bright future for the Bucs.
Frazier Heading to the Outfield
The other part of this move that affects the Pirates is moving Adam Frazier back to the outfield. This move would send Bryan Reynolds over to centerfield and would feature Adam Frazier out in left. After the 2021 Trade Deadline, the Pirates made this move and featured Frazier almost exclusively in left field. He appeared in 14 games as a left fielder last season and looked good covering 108 innings of play. He made all of the plays and even showed off a decent arm picking up the first two outfield assists of his Major League career. Frazier has been a guy who has had no problem changing positions throughout his career, and this move shouldn't faze him either.
When he first came to the Major Leagues in 2016 and 2017, Frazier was featured more in the outfield than he was in the infield. Over his career, he has a .978 career fielding percentage between all three outfield positions. Frazier doesn't have the speed that Reynolds does, so I don't see him moving to centerfield, but Reynolds is more than capable of handling centerfield duties during the season. As a left fielder, Frazier has a career Outs Above Average of three in left field and has an Estimated Success rate of 85%. PNC Park's won't field is one of the bigger ones in baseball and requires good speed to be able to cover it all. This is where Frazier falls a little short, with a sprint speed of 26.5 feet per second, but he makes up for it by getting good jumps on the ball and essentially being at the right place at the right time.
No matter what happens, the Pittsburgh Pirates have to ensure that they keep Phillip Evans in the lineup upon Hayes's return. Evans is too hot right now to sit on the bench and is quickly showing that he is one of the most consistent bats in the Pirates lineup. So much so that the Padres targetted him as a player they weren't going to let best them during their four-game series. When Hayes returns, he will most likely go back to his number two spot, and Evans can slip in at #5 right behind Colin Moran. That would help offer Moran some protection and gives the middle of the Pirates order more run producers throughout the season. The lineup is hot already, but it is about to get hotter with both Hayes and Evans in it.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (5-8) are back on the road this weekend when they head to Wisconsin to take on the Milwaukee Brewers (7-5). JT Brubaker (1-0, 1.93) looks to continue his hot start to the season when he goes against Adrian Houser (1-1, 1.80) for the Brewers. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter at @Buccos_Cove.
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