BRADENTON, Fla. — On the backfields of Pirate City, days before the Pirates would begin Grapefruit League play, Clint Hurdle stood behind Colin Moran at third base.
"I only do this with guys I trust," Hurdle said to Moran, the club's new starting third baseman. Moran, standing 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, prepared for the next grounder hit his way, then as the ball approached, he corralled it into his glove and fired a perfect strike over to first.
Moran, 25, rose through the Astros' system with a reputation as a consistent left-handed hitter, and although much is made of his success at the plate last season — a career-high 18 home runs at Triple-A — the soft-spoken, prideful former top draft pick is determined to improve as a defender.
"I work hard on defense," Moran, acquired in the Gerrit Cole trade, said. "I try to work hard on those little things. I have to be a consistent player over there and take pride in my defense. I work hard to be a good third baseman."
He'll have to in order to secure the starting third base job for the Pirates. After all, his new backup, David Freese, was a National League Gold Glove finalist last season, with 13 defensive runs saved since joining the Bucs in 2016.
The Pirates won't be impatient with Moran. The plan is to have him start— although he could sit against some left-handed starters — and possibly provide Josh Bell protection in the order. However, deficient defensive play could lead Clint Hurdle to replace Moran late in games, much like the Pirates did with Bell for the first half of last season.
But the Pirates — in much need of another bat — view Moran as capable of being an everyday player after his emergence 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 18 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 adjustments made to his swing and the routine he had to establish to not fall back into bad habits.
But he suffered a concussion and broken orbital bone in July after fouling a ball off his face, forcing him to miss six weeks. When the trade with the Astros was complete, Hurdle spoke in great detail with new Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who served as Houston's bench coach last season.
Cora, who worked extensively with the Astros' infielders, offered a glowing endorsement of Moran's defense.
"Alex Cora had some really good thoughts you don’t get from analytics, from numbers, from fielding percentage," Hurdle said. "He worked with him extremely hard over there. [Moran's] a guy that shows up, there’s not a lot of loud talk, he shows up and he works."
Moran said: "I don’t know what people’s expectations are. I make sure I’m in good shape over there. I put the time in to focus on my footwork and make sure I’m a good defender over there."
In fact, Moran played shortstop last spring in an effort to get additional at-bats prior to opening day and played four innings at the position during the Astros' regular season finale in September. He and Jordy Mercer are the tallest starting left side of an infield among projected starters in Major League Baseball. Moran also has spent time at short this spring as a result of the non-traditional shifts the Pirates have deployed at times.
He's committed one error in 12 games — a one-hopper skipped over his glove in the Pirates' loss to the Yankees on Thursday — and his arm strength has impressed both Hurdle and infielders coach Joey Cora — Alex's brother. Yet, he's had defensive struggles in the past.
Moran committed eight errors in 57 games at third base at Triple-A last season, and he has 45 career errors at third in his five minor league seasons. Those troubles led some prospect analysts to conclude Moran may have to transition to first base at some point in his career.
Hurdle expressed confidence that working with Joey Cora will assist Moran's development, but Cora said it's far too early for him to give any sort of review on Moran's play at third.
"So far he’s doing OK. The few games he has played I think he’s played well," Cora said. "He’s getting his work done. He’s hitting well. He’s catching the balls he needs to catch. The most impressive thing he has is he’s very accurate with his throws. That’s stood out more than anything."
Hurdle is pleased with what Moran has shown at the plate thus far. Moran is batting .324/.371/.424 with five RBIs in 37 at-bats, although he has yet to hit a home run. He has shown the ability to hit the ball to both sides of the field and has displayed impressive patience at the plate.
For now, the Pirates are going to give Moran every opportunity to be their third baseman, despite Freese being an above-average defender with a .368 on-base percentage last season.
"I think he’s a dependable defender," Hurdle said. "I don’t listen to what a lot of what other people say. He has an opportunity to make his own way. ... I think we’ll see improvement as we continue in the spring and the more time spent I think he’s going to make the plays we need him to make, and he’s able to do more than that, so we’ll see what plays out."