The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday that they have signed first baseman/outfielder John Jaso to a two-year contract.
At 32 years old, Jaso hit .286 with the Tampa Bay Rays last season in 70 games and will platoon with Mike Morse, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Stephen J. Nesbitt.
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that Jaso will be making $8 million over the two years of his deal. According to USA Today Sports’ Bob Nightengale, he will serve as one of the replacements for free-agent first baseman Pedro Alvarez, who won’t be returning to the team.
But Jaso’s fielding at first base does provide a question mark. The veteran has only played at first base twice in his career and not since 2013, when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics.
According to Nesbitt, he originally told the Pirates he was willing to play outfield and be the team’s emergency third catcher.
But general manager Neal Huntington told the media on Wednesday that the Pirates signed Jaso to be their left-handed-hitting first baseman.
“We feel the offensive upside is worth the calculated gamble that he’s going to be able to play first base,” Huntington said, per Nesbitt.
The GM continued to say Jaso was “very interested in making this (the transition to first base) work. He’s motivated,” per the Pittsburgh Tribune‘s Rob Biertempfel.
Jaso has only appeared in 100 games or more in a season twice over his seven-year career. But his left-handed bat has proved serviceable throughout his limited playing time.
He provides some pop as well. Though he isn’t a regular home run hitter or necessarily a threatening one, Jaso could provide an occasional lift to a Pirates offense that will surely miss the left-handed Alvarez’s 20-plus home run power.
Platooning Jaso with Morse still doesn’t make up for the power lost. Morse struggles to put the ball in play, batting .231 last season with 76 strikeouts in 229 at-bats, while Jaso struck out just 39 times in 216 at-bats.
If Morse goes cold, Jaso will probably receive more playing time if his glove is up to snuff. It’s not the perfect way to replace first base, but at least the Pirates have options.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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