Former Rays prospects who recently hit waivers should be on the Pirates’ radar

Depth is always an important part of a team and represents an obvious need for the current Pirates. It was something they struggled with last year, often turning to unsuitable names after suffering injuries.

Their depth at the infield corners, especially first base, needs to improve. Fortunately, a minor-leaguer coming off a quality season in Triple-A and had a solid MLB debut hit straight waivers. The Tampa Bay Rays recently designated Austin Shenton for assignmentand he is someone the Pittsburgh Pirates should seriously consider picking up.

Shenton made his Major League debut this past season, but his tenure in the majors certainly had its ups and downs. The infielder appeared in 19 games with 50 plate appearances. He had nine hits, but six were extra-base hits (five doubles and one home run). Shenton also drew eight times. However, he K’d 14 times. His wRC+ in the small sample size was 120.

Can Pirates find talent from ex-Rays IF Austin Shenton?

Shenton also hit well in Triple-A this season. He posted a .258/.361/.497 triple-slash, providing plenty of pop with 20 homers in just 363 plate appearances, along with a .239 isolated slugging percentage. Shenton drew walks at a healthy 13.2% rate. This culminated in a .377 wOBA and 122 wRC+ for the Rays’ Triple-A team.

Shenton’s numbers are great, but there is one very glaring flaw in his game: he strikes out a ton. Shenton had a 30.3% completion rate with a 35.3 whiff last season. This wasn’t just a one-year fluke either. In 2023, Shenton struck out 27.7% of the time with a 33% swing-and-miss rate, despite vastly superior output with the bat (1.034 OPS, .446 wOBA, 158 wRC+).

Shenton split his season between first base and third base. When the Rays promoted him to the Major Leagues, he first saw time as a designated hitter. He’s not considered a great defender, but he has a strong enough arm to hold down the hot corner from time to time. He has some minimal experience at second base and in the outfield corners, but hasn’t started a game at keystone since 2021 and hasn’t played any outfield since 2019.

Will Shenton solve the pirates’ first base problems? Probably not. But is he a decent depth corner infielder to save at Triple-A? Yes, he is. Shenton would certainly be an upgrade over Jake Lamb as he is younger, has more upside and is coming off a much more promising previous season than when the Pirates signed Lamb last offseason. It’s important to have decent depth so the Pirates don’t get stranded in the event of an injury, and adding Shenton would be a decent attempt to prevent that.