Pirates Outfielder on Minor League Deal Was Successful as They Face Critics at The Incident
The Dodgers added a little bit of depth in the outfield, signing Travis Swaggerty to a minor league deal. The Pittsburgh Pirates initially selected Swaggerty back in 2018 in the first round.
Swaggerty bats and throws left-handed while playing every spot in the outfield. He’s a career minor league player besides a five-game stint with the Pirates in 2022.
He’s had a bit of a rough time in his minor-league career. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2021. Then, he lost a good amount of time in 2022 from a concussion.
Since thenm he has bounced around the minor league levels, even going all the way down to Single-A ball last year. Swaggerty, 26, figures to provide some competition in the outfield in Oklahoma City next year.
He does provide some organizational depth for a club that currently does not have an everyday outfielder. Andy Pages, coming off shoulder surgery, is the organization’s most major league-ready outfield prospect right now. Some in prospect circles also project Pages as a DH and not a left-fielder. Beyond that, they do not have much unless Miguel Vargas or Michael Busch learn to play left field.
Seeing Swaggerty at the major league level is certainly a long shot. Crazier things have happened, though.
Christmas is just right around the corner. Hopefully you’ve already done all your holiday shopping, but the Pittsburgh Pirates have some remaining gifts to get.
It’s been an active month leading up to the holiday season. The Pirates have already added two starting pitchers in Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez. They’ve also been busy adding to the lineup. Andrew McCutchen is back on a one-year deal. Rowdy Tellez will man first base this coming season and the Bucs added Edward Olivares to their outfield mix.
While plenty has already been accomplished, there are still some things Ben Cherington has to check off his list.
Starting Pitcher
Even with two additions already in the field, the Pirates could use further rotation help behind Mitch Keller, Gonzales and Pérez.
As things currently stand, the final two spots in the rotation will go to some combination of Luis Ortiz, Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester and Bailey Falter. 2023 top pick Paul Skenes could potentially be in the mix, too. JT Brubaker and Mike Burrows are both expected back midseason in their recoveries from Tommy John surgery.
While there are three solidified spots in the starting rotation, there are to many question marks for the final two spots, so another outside addition makes sense.
Preferably, the Pirates will seek a starting pitcher with more upside. Gonzales and Pérez have experienced good results at times, but both pitchers profile as safer, back-end rotation pieces.
There are still plenty of free agents left on the market who the Pirates have been linked to, names such as Lucas Giolito, Mike Clevinger and Yariel Rodriguez among others.
If the Pirates go the trade route, they could explore going big for a guy like Dylan Cease, who is seemingly available from the Chicago White Sox.
True Center Fielder
The Pirates have a fairly crowded mix of outfielders, but they are lacking a natural center fielder.
