The Pirates are still trying to answer several questions across their roster as they head into spring training next month, but shortstop doesn't seem to be one of them. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the guy, at least for this season, according to comments made by Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton at PiratesFest this past weekend.
When Kiner-Falefa was acquired at the trade deadline last season, it afforded the Pirates the opportunity to move Oneil Cruz to center field where he made 23 appearances. When asked about Kiner-Falefa playing full-time at shortstop despite some defensive metrics showing it might not be a good fit,Cherington highlighted Cruz's move to center field.
"We believe that while he still has work to do to be all that he can be as a defensive center fielder, we saw enough in that sample at the end of the season to give that a full shot," Cherington said. "It seemed to free him up a little bit."
Cherington then said this about Kiner-Falefa: "For what it’s worth, our internal metrics have him as an above-average defensive shortstop. He’s been an elite infield defender for sure, over the course of his career. We also believe that going into spring training, potentially, if he has an opportunity to maybe focus a little bit more on short, where as last year when he was in Toronto, it was second, it was third, he was kinda bouncing around, he’ll be even more prepared for that position going into 2025."
Kiner-Falefa has been known as a utility player for most of his career. In his rookie season, he made 20 or more appearances at three different positions. During his final season with the Yankees in 2023, he made 31 appearances at third base, 37 in left field and 41 in center field. Even last year in Toronto, Kiner-Falefa played 40 games at second, 39 at third and 15 at shortstop.
In the 50 games Kiner-Falefa played for the Pirates last season, he started 48 and made 28 appearances at shortstop. But he also played 16 games at second base and nine at third base.
The seven-year veteran has been a top-tier defender at times throughout his career, but according to some statistics, shortstop has been one of his worst positions. According to baseballsavant.com, Kiner-Falefa recorded a -2 Outs Above Average, which is a range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player has saved over his peers, while playing shortstop for the Pirates. It ranked 39th of 52 shortstops with at least 100 attempts. He also recorded a 69% success rate which was the second-lowest among that group. To put it into perspective, he recorded a four at third base and a one at second base. He also won a Gold Glove at third base during the 2020 season.
There are other metrics that could define Kiner-Falefa's fit as a full-time shortstop, but Derek Shelton said the Pirates aren't necessarily worried about metrics produced outside of the organization.
"Defensive external metrics are so noisy," Shelton said. "We internally talk about, like one guy will come in and say this and that, so there’s a lot of noise in them. So I think we trust ours a little bit more than what’s out there."
This won't be the first time that Kiner-Falefa has spent the majority of his time at shortstop. During the 2021 season, his last with the Rangers, he made all of his defensive appearances (156) at shortstop and made 138 of his 142 defensive appearances at the position the following year with the Yankees. He recorded a -6 OAA in 2021 and a -3 in 2022 while tallying success rates of 75% and 78%, respectively.
At the plate, Kiner-Falefa has been a sub-.300 hitter throughout his career, tallying batting averages between .238 and .280. He slashed .240/.265/.322 with 10 doubles, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases last season. However, he also struck out four more times in Pittsburgh than in he did in Toronto while playing 33 less games. He produced a slash line of .292/.338/.420 during 83 games in Toronto to go with eight doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBIs.
Liover Peguero is also waiting for another extended opportunity at shortstop after playing in 59 games in 2023. He'll likely see time there during spring training after only tallying two hits in 10 at bats over the course of three games at the end of last season. But, it seems as though shortstop is Kiner-Falefa's position to lose while Cherington keeps his options open for the future.
"We’re confident IKF can do it at a high level," Cherington said. "It’s also a position that we’ll keep looking at in terms of the future and who’s playing that position down the road."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
12:12 am - 01.24.2025DOWNTOWNIs Kiner-Falefa the best option at shortstop?
The Pirates are still trying to answer several questions across their roster as they head into spring training next month, but shortstop doesn't seem to be one of them. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the guy, at least for this season, according to comments made by Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton at PiratesFest this past weekend.
When Kiner-Falefa was acquired at the trade deadline last season, it afforded the Pirates the opportunity to move Oneil Cruz to center field where he made 23 appearances. When asked about Kiner-Falefa playing full-time at shortstop despite some defensive metrics showing it might not be a good fit, Cherington highlighted Cruz's move to center field.
"We believe that while he still has work to do to be all that he can be as a defensive center fielder, we saw enough in that sample at the end of the season to give that a full shot," Cherington said. "It seemed to free him up a little bit."
Cherington then said this about Kiner-Falefa: "For what it’s worth, our internal metrics have him as an above-average defensive shortstop. He’s been an elite infield defender for sure, over the course of his career. We also believe that going into spring training, potentially, if he has an opportunity to maybe focus a little bit more on short, where as last year when he was in Toronto, it was second, it was third, he was kinda bouncing around, he’ll be even more prepared for that position going into 2025."
Kiner-Falefa has been known as a utility player for most of his career. In his rookie season, he made 20 or more appearances at three different positions. During his final season with the Yankees in 2023, he made 31 appearances at third base, 37 in left field and 41 in center field. Even last year in Toronto, Kiner-Falefa played 40 games at second, 39 at third and 15 at shortstop.
In the 50 games Kiner-Falefa played for the Pirates last season, he started 48 and made 28 appearances at shortstop. But he also played 16 games at second base and nine at third base.
The seven-year veteran has been a top-tier defender at times throughout his career, but according to some statistics, shortstop has been one of his worst positions. According to baseballsavant.com, Kiner-Falefa recorded a -2 Outs Above Average, which is a range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player has saved over his peers, while playing shortstop for the Pirates. It ranked 39th of 52 shortstops with at least 100 attempts. He also recorded a 69% success rate which was the second-lowest among that group. To put it into perspective, he recorded a four at third base and a one at second base. He also won a Gold Glove at third base during the 2020 season.
There are other metrics that could define Kiner-Falefa's fit as a full-time shortstop, but Derek Shelton said the Pirates aren't necessarily worried about metrics produced outside of the organization.
"Defensive external metrics are so noisy," Shelton said. "We internally talk about, like one guy will come in and say this and that, so there’s a lot of noise in them. So I think we trust ours a little bit more than what’s out there."
This won't be the first time that Kiner-Falefa has spent the majority of his time at shortstop. During the 2021 season, his last with the Rangers, he made all of his defensive appearances (156) at shortstop and made 138 of his 142 defensive appearances at the position the following year with the Yankees. He recorded a -6 OAA in 2021 and a -3 in 2022 while tallying success rates of 75% and 78%, respectively.
At the plate, Kiner-Falefa has been a sub-.300 hitter throughout his career, tallying batting averages between .238 and .280. He slashed .240/.265/.322 with 10 doubles, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases last season. However, he also struck out four more times in Pittsburgh than in he did in Toronto while playing 33 less games. He produced a slash line of .292/.338/.420 during 83 games in Toronto to go with eight doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBIs.
Liover Peguero is also waiting for another extended opportunity at shortstop after playing in 59 games in 2023. He'll likely see time there during spring training after only tallying two hits in 10 at bats over the course of three games at the end of last season. But, it seems as though shortstop is Kiner-Falefa's position to lose while Cherington keeps his options open for the future.
"We’re confident IKF can do it at a high level," Cherington said. "It’s also a position that we’ll keep looking at in terms of the future and who’s playing that position down the road."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!