Gift

Ngoepe

Ngoepe had been at Triple-A in the Phillies organization but was released after hitting just .221/.296/.410. The 29-year-old is now back in his original organization.

He’s the only player in camp who hasn’t arrived. It’s unclear when the situation will be cleared up. Ngoepe, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in January and figures to serve as infield depth in Triple-A.

Ngoepe has hit just .181/.272/.236 during his brief time in the majors. He’ll turn 29 in a week.

One of the hits was a triple. The infielder struggled at Triple-A last year, batting just .217/.289/.355 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 102 games.

Ngoepe went 18-for-42 at the plate this spring, but he was never really in the running for a roster spot. The 27-year-old is coming off a terrible season at Indy, so he could use more seasoning.

He’ll be the first-ever African-born player to reach the major league level. Ngoepe, 27, was batting just .241/.308/.379 through 66 plate appearances this season with Triple-A Indianapolis, but the Bucs are desperate for infield depth with David Freese nursing a sore hamstring. Ngoepe probably won’t be up for long and is not fantasy-relevant.

Ngoepe is the first African-born player to make it to the major league level. The 27-year-old was batting just .241/.308/.379 in 66 plate appearances this season at Triple-A and holds no fantasy relevance.

Ngoepe came off the bench and went 1-for-2 with a walk in his major league debut on Wednesday, but he made the start at second base Friday with Josh Harrison filling in for David Freese (hamstring) at the hot corner. He notched his first career RBI with a line-drive single to left in the fourth. As Pirates broadcaster Joe Block noted on Twitter, Ngoepe is the first Pirate since Eddie Moore (1923) to reach base five times in his first MLB start. He’s an amazing story, but we’re not counting on fantasy value here.

The team likes his athleticism, but Ngoepe seemed like a weak choice for the Pirates’ 40-man roster when he was added a year ago and he was awful in Triple-A last season, coming in at .217/.289/.355 with 130 strikeouts in 332 at-bats. He has done really well this spring, batting .400 with 11 runs scored in 35 at-bats, but he’s destined to return to Triple-A anyway. He needs to take a big step forward there this year if he’s going to become a major leaguer.

Freese still felt something in his right hamstring while taking swings in the cage Friday. He hasn’t played since Monday. The disabled list will be in play if Freese doesn’t improve in a hurry, but the Pirates are still listing him as day-to-day for now and he’ll try to field some grounders pre-game Friday. They have Josh Harrison at third base and Gift Ngoepe at second Friday.