Pirates Add Dee Gordon on Minor League Deal Bringing More Versatilty
As the rain and storms made their way through the Northeast part of the United States. Because of this, the opener of the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets four-game weekend set had to be postponed, and the teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday. It was actually a much-needed off day for the Pirates, who are currently in the middle of a stretch where they played 21 games in 21 days leading up to the All-Star Break. It gives the Pirates bullpen a day off after a disastrous showing on Wednesday and allows the regulars a day to get off their feet. However, just because the team has a day off doesn't mean the front office rests.
The Pirates made a move early Thursday morning to add some versatility to their infield depth. They signed infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon to a Minor League deal, and he will report to Triple-A Indianapolis. Gordon has not yet played in the Major Leagues this season but was most recently on a Minor League contract with the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates are the fourth National League Central team Gordon has been with this year after starting the year with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. Gordon last played in the MLB in 2020 with the Seattle Mariners and hit .200 with three RBI in 13 games. He would have seen more action, but a strained left quad at the beginning of the year had him starting slow and he never recovered. Now with the Pirates, Gordon is hoping to get his opportunity in the Big Leagues to help a team that is young and looking to rebuild towards the future.
10-Year Veteran Wisdom
One thing that Dee Gordon does bring with him to the Pirates is MLB experience. Overall he has 10 years of Big League experience, playing for three different teams, and is a career .286 hitter with 18 home runs and 234 RBI. He has always been able to hit for a high average, having a batting average over the .260 mark in four of the past five seasons. Like many MLB stars, Gordon was slow out of the gate, and because he was injured he never had time to recover. He is looking to show that his performance last season was a fluke and that he can in fact get back to being a strong contact hitter. In 2019, Gordon hit a healthy .275 with three home runs and 34 RBI in 117 games with the Mariners, and that is more along the lines of what Gordon could bring to the Pirates.
One part of Gordon's game that he has always been known for is his speed, as he led the league in stolen bases four times in his career. However, at 33-years-old, he doesn't have a lot of the speed that he had early in his career, but he still can steal you some bases. In 2019, Gordon swiped 22 bags in 27 chances and had an on-base percentage of .305. The biggest challenge for Gordon is going to be cutting down on his strikeout numbers so he can get those opportunities to be on base. Over the last five seasons, Gordon's strikeout rate has risen every single season. In 2020, his strikeout rate was a career-high 15.9%, which was two percentage points higher than his strikeout rate in 2015. The positive thing is his walk rate has also gone up over that span and he posted a career-high 6.1% over that same span.
The biggest thing defensively with Gordon is his ability to play multiple positions and play them well. While second base is his primary position, Gordon can also play shortstop and all three outfield positions if need be. His primary position is second base and he has a career fielding percentage of .982 at the position. However, he has been strong in the outfield as well with a career fielding percentage of 1.000 in left field and .963 in centerfield. He uses his speed to cover a lot of ground, and that will be imperative in a big PNC Park outfield. Gordon could be a big bench asset for the Pirates and could have his career turned around at the latter part of his career.
Gordon's Role in Pittsburgh
With the Pirates being sellers at the trade deadline, the initial reaction to this trade is that Gordon will be the replacement when Adam Frazier is traded. I don't think this is entirely wrong, however, I also don't think it is a slam dunk that Frazier is traded right now. Ben Cherington has shown that he is not necessarily ready to settle for any deal and will wait out until he gets the deal he wants. With this in mind, there are two different possibilities for Gordon, one revolving around the Pirates trading Adam Frazier, and one revolving around the Pirates not trading Frazier. Either way, I feel we will see Gordon in a Pirates uniform this season either as a platoon player or a bench option for Shelton.
First, we look at the most likely of the two options that the Pirates trade Adam Frazier. If they do this, Gordon will most likely get the call from the Minor Leagues, but I don't believe he will be the everyday starter. I feel like he will be a platoon option with either Kevin Newman or Rodolfo Castro. If the Pirates move Frazier, one of two things will happen. Either they bring Cole Tucker up to play shortstop and move Newman back to second base, or they leave Newman at second and bring Castro up full-time. Either way, Gordon offers a left-handed option and could platoon with either player, taking some of the pressure off of them initially while getting some at-bats for himself in 2021.
Of course, the other scenario sees the Pirates keep Frazier and use Gordon as more of a bench/utility option. With his like Ka'ai Tom and Phillip Evans struggling to find their way as of late, Gordon is a veteran utility option the Piratwa could use off the bench. He has the ability to play second, shortstop, and all three outfield positions and plays them all rather well. The Pirates outfield has been a puzzle all season long, with Bryan Reynolds being the only consistent player out there. It could be an opportunity for Gordon to come in and earn a spot out there. He definitely has the speed to handle PNC Park and could be a boost to what has been a struggling bottom of the lineup. I like the signing of Gordon from a depth perspective as it is a low-risk but possibly high-reward move in the long run.
After a rainout yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates (32-54) try once again to open a four-game series with the New York Mets (45-38) tonight at 7:10 pm. JT Brubaker (4-8, 4.09) looks for a bounce-back effort when he faces Taijuan Walker (7-3, 2.44) for the Mets. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
Could be a good pick up, as Gamel and Nogowski seem to be.
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