Perrotto: And, Boom, Pirates Have 11 Second Basemen

John Madden, the late NFL coach and television analyst, used to take about any opportunity available to profess his love for tight ends. He often said the best offensive set in football history would be one that included five tight ends,

Most everyone is familiar with the five-man infield strategy in baseball. A manager brings an outfielder into the infield to cut off the potential winning run in a do-or-die situation.

Well, it appears that Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington’s affinity for second basemen is reaching Madden-level proportions. It is to the point where you can’t help but wonder if manager Derek Shelton will deploy a seven-man infield at some point in the 2025 season.

The Pirates officially added yet another second baseman Wednesday when they finalized a one-year, $1,525,000 contract with free agent Adam Frazier. Though he is now a utility player, Frazier started at second base for the National League in the 2021 All-Star Game in his final days with the Pirates before being traded to the San Diego Padres.

The signing of Frazier is baffling.

He is a wonderful guy but also 33 and hit just .202/.282/.294 with four home runs in 104 games for the Kansas City Royals. However, Frazier is not close to the player he was when the Pirates traded him.

By my count, the Pirates have 11 players on their 40-man roster who can play second base, including many who have seen regular playing time at the position at some point in their professional careers.

First is Nick Gonzales, the presumptive starter. He led the Pirates with 83 games started at second base last season.

Gonzales was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 10 to replace Jared Triolo, who began the season as the primary second baseman. Triolo finished the season with 42 starts at second base and won the National League Gold Glove award for a utility player.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Alika Williams started 15 times each at the keystone. Kiner-Falefa is expected to be the Pirates’ starting shortstop this season while Williams faces an uphill battle in spring training to make the team.

The other seven starts in 2024 went to Nick Yorke, who made his major-league debut on Sept. 16. The 22-year-old’s chances of being on the opening-day roster are clouded by the addition of Frazier.

In addition to the five players who started at second base, Ji-Hwan Bae logged one inning there last year and played 21 games there for Indianapolis. Bae was once considered the Pirates’ potential second baseman of the future until he started being converted to a utility player in 2023.

The list doesn’t end there.

Liover Peguero remains on the 40-man roster. He made 23 starts at second base for the Pirates two years ago and went to spring training in 2024 as the favorite to be the starter before being beaten out for the job by Triolo.

The Pirates acquired Enmanuel Valdez from the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 15. He made 100 starts at second base for the Red Sox over the past two seasons.

Prospect Tsung-Che Cheng has started 89 times at second base in the minor leagues during his four-year career.

Even catcher Endy Rodriguez made 22 starts at second in 2022 in the minor leagues.

Termarr Johnson is generally considered the Pirates’ top hitting prospect despite his .239 batting average since being drafted fourth overall in 2022.

And what position does Johnson play? Second base.

Of course.