SAN DIEGO -- Josh VanMeter had not taken any ground balls at first base this season before Friday's pregame workouts at PETCO Park.
He had a little bit of experience at the position, totaling 96 career major-league innings there, but he had only made just two starts at the position over the previous two seasons.
“I don’t feel terrible over there,” VanMeter was telling me. “Obviously last night, I made a mistake.”
That mistake most likely cost the Pirates the game Friday night. Catcher Tyler Heineman fielded a dribbler up the third base line and tossed it on to first, but while the throw beat the runner to the bag, VanMeter’s foot was not on the base at the time. After a review, Eric Hosmer was safe at first, and Luke Voit went on to hit a two-out, game-tying homer later in the inning.
Despite that error, the Pirates will be going back to VanMeter at first base, at least in the short term. He's starting there Saturday because the position has been hit by the injury bug this week. A few days ago, VanMeter was fourth on the depth chart -- if even that -- at first base.
“There’s always that emergency case, like with the catcher thing and stuff like that,” VanMeter said. “Yeah, it’s been a wild past couple days because of injuries.”
First, Daniel Vogelbach was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring injury. Before Friday's game, Yoshi Tsutsugo hit the IL with a lumbar muscle strain. In the sixth inning Friday, Michael Chavis was removed with forearm discomfort. He is considered day-to-day.
Even though none of those injuries are currently projected to be long-term, it creates an immediate hole at an important position.
After VanMeter, the Pirates' options are thin. Ben Gamel played nine innings at first base last year, and according to Derek Shelton, is the next man up if VanMeter is removed from the game or has to change positions. Gamel was spotted taking some grounders at first during the last homestand at PNC Park.
Diego Castillo has yet to play a game professionally at first, but has been fielding ground balls there, just in case. No other player on the major-league roster has started a game at first base outside of VanMeter.
But when the team is going that far down the depth chart, it raises the question of why Mason Martin is still with Class AAA Indianapolis.
Martin has obvious pros and cons as a player. He was slugging .570 with 10 home runs, 26 extra-base hits and an .888 OPS entering play Saturday, meaning he could potentially provide the Pirates some much-needed power. He also has struck out in 33% of his plate appearances, which is right in line with his career norms.
He has been working on trying to cut down on those chases and whiffs, adopting new training ideas like using occlusion goggles during some batting practices, which cuts off his vision before he swings, meaning he has to more quickly identify pitch type and how it will move towards the plate.
While the strikeouts are still there, it's hard to complain about the quality of the contact when he does get the bat to the ball.
Adding Martin to the roster would raise some other questions down the road, like what happens to Tsutsugo -- who has a .257 slugging percentage and has been worth -0.7 WAR so far this year, but was one of the Pirates' best hitters in 2021 -- and who would be removed from the roster, but the Pirates have been willing to give some prospects shots in the majors of late because of injuries and needs at the major-league level.
Roansy Contreras and Tucupita Marcano were both recalled last week, and Cal Mitchell and Yerry De Los Santos had their contracts selected to be added to the 40 man roster so they could be promoted from the majors. All four of those players were brought up at least partially because of team need.
"That is a unique balance of what we do," Shelton said. "We just have to figure out at the best time what’s best not only for us but what’s best for the individual player. At the time, we felt it was best for Cal to get up here. Right now we feel like Mason’s in the best spot for him."
Shelton has cited development in the past for why Martin is still working in the minors.
Chavis' injury status could potentially force the Pirates' hand to call up some from the minors to provide first base depth. If his injury is short-term, he could assume the everyday reps the Pirates planned on giving him with Tsutsugo and Vogelbach out. If it requires a trip to the injured list, it almost necessitates a move.
