Moran, penciled in at third base, not trying to 'impress everybody'

BRADENTON, Fla. — With most players having already left Pirate City for the day, Colin Moran stood in his left-handed batting stance between two rows of locker stalls inside the clubhouse Monday afternoon.

Josh Bell, sitting on a stool to Moran's left, was asking his new teammate about his hand placement on the bat handle. Then, Moran slowly took a swing while explaining to Bell what exact mechanical adjustments he made that led to his breakout season in 2017.

Bell, who is obsessive about his own swing, isn't the only person inside the Pirates' organization who's intrigued by Moran's swing.

After all, the club had their eye on the 25-year-old well before he was acquired from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade last month, and it's the power that swing produced that has him penciled in as the club's starting third baseman.

"We want to give him that opportunity to come in and take hold of it," Clint Hurdle said Wednesday afternoon of the vacancy at third base. "The hitter, we’ve liked for a long time. We talked to some people we know really well [about Moran]. ... Like the man, like the effort, like the makeup, like the work and like the bat and an able defender. I think going into camp we’re looking at him getting the opportunity to take that job and roll with it."

Hurdle didn't have to make many phone calls to receive an in-depth scouting report on Moran. Pirates third base coach Joey Cora received glowing reviews about Moran from his brother, Alex, who was the Astros' third base coach last season.

Although Moran has only 16 games of major league experience, he was one of the best hitters in the minor leagues during the first half of last season. In 79 games for Triple-A Fresno, Moran hit a career-high 19 home runs with a slash line of .308/.373/.543.

Additionally, his ground-ball rate dropped nearly 12.9 percent with an increase in line-drive rate and his strikeout rate was just 16.3 percent. The improvement was the result of the adjustment made to his swing and the routine he had to establish to not fall back into bad habits.

"It wasn’t terribly hard," Moran explained to DKPittsburghSports.com. "Whenever you go into something new, though, you’re going to feel some things out. You develop that routine. Now I have that routine, and going through a season with the swing changes, it makes it easier to learn what to give and take with the swing. Getting knowledgable is always helpful."

Drafted sixth overall by the Marlins in 2013, Moran rose up prospect rankings by hitting for average through Double-A, but he began to struggle once he reached Triple-A Fresno in 2016.

He batted .259/.329/.368 with 69 RBI and 124 strikeouts to 47 walks in 117 games that season. Moran was recalled in May that year, but he went 0-for-13 to begin his big league career and wound up getting 23 at-bats with three hits and two RBI in nine appearances.

He never posted an isolated power of better than .153 in any of his first four pro seasons and his career high for home runs was 10. Also, his ground-ball percentage was a career-worst 24.3 percent in 2016.

Last offseason, he began working with Astros hitting coordinator Jeff Albert to solve what was ailing him at the plate. Moran stopped using a leg kick in his swing and completely changed his stance. He now rests the bat on his shoulder with his hands higher on the bat handle.

Moran also closed his stance, which led to a more direct swing path through the strike zone.

"I cleaned up some of my actions in my swing," Moran added. "That was a big part. ... We got to work on a few different things. It cleaned up so much, and I got much more knowledgable with my swing. It simplified things, and I definitely got the results I was looking for."

When Moran was recalled by the Astros in July, starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, who was also acquired by the Pirates in the Cole trade, saw a different hitter than the one who was his teammate in the minor leagues.

But Moran didn't get much of a chance to prove his adjustment would lead to production in the major leagues. During the sixth inning of a game against the Orioles at Camden Yards — only his second game after being recalled — Moran's own foul ball hit him in the face below his left eye.

He suffered a concussion and facial fracture, requiring surgery that forced him to miss the next six weeks. Moran returned to play three games at Triple-A and five games for the Astros to finish the regular season.

"It was scary," Musgrove said. "I was down in the bullpen so we couldn't see what was going on. Watching the replay, it was terrifying. It was tough to see because he was having a completely different year than I’ve seen. Watching his approach, daily routine and what he was doing to prepare himself, he was fully committed. He was on a streak and really doing well. He looked like a completely different hitter than he was in the past. I’m excited to see what he can do here with a full season on the field."

On the day most Astros players were headed home from the team's annual fan fest, Moran received a call telling him he had been traded to the Pirates. Then Neal Huntington called, followed by Hurdle.

Although he was "shocked" at first, Moran said he was quickly overcome with excitement. The Pirates are in need of more power — especially after Andrew McCutchen was traded three days later — but Moran explained that he has no desire to try to justify being part of a trade that sent an ace pitcher to the World Series champions.

Instead, he plans on using his swing to try to earn a spot on the opening day roster.

"You have to understand how to deal with being traded, how to be yourself and not try to impress everybody," Moran said. "Let the rest take care of itself. It’s a whirlwind to get traded, but things settle down and you roll with it."

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY