Pirates Make Yet Another Change at First Base
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made another change at first base for their spring training game today.
The Pirates are having DJ Stewart start at first base in their Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. on Saturday afternoon.
This makes it seven times during the spring that Stewart has started at first base for the Pirates, the most for any player on the team so far.
The Pirates have had six players at first base during spring training so far. This includes Jared Triolo, who has played there five times, Darrick Hall and Nick Yorke, who each played there four times, Billy Cook, who played there three times, and Adam Frazier, who played there twice.
The Pirates have looked for options at first base and originally traded with the Cleveland Guardians for Spencer Horwitz back on Dec. 10. They sent three players in return to the Guardians in right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz and left-handed pitchers in Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy.
Horwitz is currently out dealing with a right wrist injury and his timeline was six to eight weeks from Feb. 12, but the Pirates haven't confirmed when he'll return.
Stewart, who came to spring training as a non-roster invite for the Pirates, has impressed the franchise so far. He has slashed .270/.357/.486 for an OPS of .846, with 10 hits, five double, seven runs, five RBIs and three walks in 17 games in the Grapefruit League.
Triolo has played first base for the Pirates before, but sparingly, with nine games in 2024 and three games in 2023.
While Triolo mostly plays at third base, he also features at both shortstop and second base, sesrving as a true utility man for the Pirates.
Triolo has slashed .231/.302/.333 in 16 games for the Pirates in spring training, with nine hits, six runs, two triples, one RBI and three walks.
The Pirates also sent Hall down to minor league spring training, meaning that he almost certainly is not an option for at first base, at least for opening day.
Pittsburgh opens their season on the road vs. the Miami Marlins on March 27.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.