While the Pirates did not make any major deals during the trade deadline, they have recently acquired a former top prospect.
The Pirates claimed outfielder Anthony Alford off waivers from the Blue Jays on Aug. 27, capping a pretty rapid decline for his standing within that organization. He was ranked as one of the Blue Jays' top three prospects each season from 2016-2018, and was part of Baseball America’s top 100 list during that stretch, too.
However, in parts of four seasons in the majors with them, he received just 75 plate appearances, and was designated for assignment in late August.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Alford said about being let go. “That was the longest week of my life, just waiting on the phone call. But I got a phone call from [Pirates general manager] Ben [Cherington]. He told me they had claimed me and I was very excited about it.”
His first call to the majors was in May of 2017, but he fractured his left wrist and missed almost the rest of the season. He had two middling seasons in class AAA after that, failing to tap into the raw power scouts raved about. As the Blue Jays started to promote other prospects, Alford got lost in the shuffle.
But Cherington had worked closely with Alford when he was the vice president of baseball operations with the Blue Jays from 2016-2019. The farm system and player development were his main projects, so he knew what Alford could potentially offer and made the claim.
“I think it definitely made the transition [to the Pirates] a lot easier,” Alford said. “I got to work with Ben a lot. He was on the minor league side a lot, over there. I got to talk to him a good bit and develop a good relationship. [Derek] Shelton was one of the assistants in the big leagues when I first got called up so I got to work with him in spring training a lot that year that I debuted. When I actually debuted, he was up there so we kind of bonded that relationship as well.”
And Alford showed a bit of that potential in his first start Wednesday, driving a home run out to the big part of the park in left-center.
Alford has only been in Pittsburgh a couple of days, but he already knows that’s a pretty big left field – “Jesus Christ, this is a lot of grass out here,” was his original thought when he took the position – but he is graded as one of the fastest players in the game, so he can cover it. He also has the raw power to hit one out there, if he can tap into it.
He has tinkered with his swing and mechanics over the past year, trying to translate that power into games. Now that search has brought him to Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein.
“I really like what Rick has to say because the thought process that he has, it kind of takes me back to 2017,” Alford said. “That was like my best year. That’s the year I debuted. I think it’s going to be beneficial to work with him because it’s going to be get me back to where I was in ’17 in the sense of staying within who I am.”
2017 was also the last time Alford was given any indication he was going to get even semi-regular playing time. While he has not set the world on fire in the majors, it's hard to fault him after only getting 75 plate appearances in four years with the Blue Jays.
With how the Pirates' outfield is set up, with Gregory Polanco being rotated as the designated hitter often and Cole Tucker learning center field, it looks like he will be getting some playing time at all three outfield positions.
“We claimed him for a reason, to get him an opportunity, and he's going to get a chance to play out there,” Shelton said. “It's gonna be a pretty consistent cycling of rotation for people to step up and seize that."
That opportunity is all Alford is asking for.
“I think I can-- I know I can -- be a great player at this level,” Alford said. “It’s just a matter of getting here and playing on a regular basis and showing it, just believing in myself. I believe I can be great at this level, do the same thing here that I’ve done anywhere else. It’s just a matter of having an opportunity to show it.”