Jared

Triolo

He should run the bases next week in Florida. It’s hard to tell exactly how bad Triolo’s injury is from the outside, but it sounds like he’s at least a few weeks from being a candidate to be activated. Assuming everything goes right in his rehab, that is.

Triolo sustained the injury during Saturday’s game. While the severity of the injury is not yet known, it sure sounds like Triolo will be shelved for a while. Billy Cook was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to take his place on the Pirates’ active roster.

Nick Gonzales had started all six games coming into this one and is off to a nice start offensively (.333/.357/.407 in 28 PA), but he was on the bench in favor of Triolo at third with Konnor Griffin installed at short. It turned out to be a good choice, too. Still, the Pirates could do a bit of an offense/defense platoon with the two depending on who they have on the mound. Triolo is a Gold Glove-quality defender at third, but he doesn’t offer much upside with the bat.

Cruz will be in the lineup against a left-hander for the first time since August of last year. The 27-year-old will hit against Brandon Williamson near the bottom of the lineup. Jared Triolo is out of the lineup with Nick Gonzales lining up at shortstop and Nick York at the hot corner.

The 28-year-old infielder smacked a one-out triple off of Jose Suarez in the second inning and scored the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Nick Yorke. That would be the extent of the Bucs’ offense. For the spring, Triolo has hit a solid .270 (10-for-37) with zero homers, four RBI and one stolen base in 41 plate appearances.

He had as many RBI today as in his previous 24 games combined. Triolo initially took over as the Pirates’ everyday shortstop when Isiah Kiner-Falefa was given away, but he’s been back at third with Nick Gonzales playing shortstop lately. It seems like an unusual move, given that Triolo is probably only an adequate regular if he’s serving as an above average defensive shortstop. Gonzales, though, would also be a much more interesting regular if he proves he’s a quality shortstop. It won’t mean much for the long term if top prospect Konnor Griffin stays at shortstop, but if he eventually moves off the position, as most think he will, there are ramifications. For one, Gonzales at short would open up second base for Nick Yorke and maybe eventually Termarr Johnson next year.

Cruz has been moved up to the top of the lineup card ahead of Jared Triolo for the first time since coming off the injured list back in late August. The 26-year-old center fielder has been relegated to a platoon role of late with the Pirates choosing to give Alexander Canario and Jack Suwinski opportunities in the outfield.

Triolo knocked a base hit in the third inning, then later extended the Pirates lead to four runs with a solo blast in the ninth off Shinnosuke Ogasawara. The 27-year-old infielder has been the everyday leadoff man for Pittsburgh, slashing .229/.319/.364 with six homers, 36 runs scored, 21 RBI, and ten steals across 316 plate appearances.

Triolo has been tremendous for the Pirates since coming back in August, hitting .329 in 24 games with two home runs, eight RBI, 14 runs, and four steals. His multi-position eligibility makes him fantasy relevant in deeper formats. Liover Peguero will start at shortstop and bat eighth on Thursday.

Triolo has homered in back-to-back games after hitting just three in his first 74 games this season. Unfortunately, he’s not going to get to face any additional Rockies pitching over the final five weeks of the season. Going 6-for-14 this weekend raised his OPS from .581 to .651.