I’m just going to come right out and say it. I love the promotion of Gorkys Hernandez. He should be given every opportunity to earn a starting role. I also love Evan Meek being demoted. Only because he just doesn’t have it.
This was the correct move. In fact this was the only move. The Pirates were not going to DFA someone just to get Jake Fox on the bench. Sure it’s fun to jump on the “Free Jake Fox” bandwagon but if they aren’t going to give him regular at bats there is literally zero reason to give up any assets.
Whose next? Oh yeah everyone’s favorite superhero Matt Hague. People will scream about Hernandez’s low average. Gorkys is hitting just .005 lower than Hague. They will talk about his lack of power. He is besting Hague in the SLG department .355 to .305. Gorkys is OPSing .698 this year. Matt Hague? .619. Hernandez is the better bat.
Gorkys Hernandez:
| G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 143 | 124 | 21 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 35 | .266 | .343 | .355 | .698 |
Matt Hague:
| G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 129 | 118 | 14 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 20 | .271 | .313 | .305 | .618 |
Not only is the stick better, Gorkys is two years younger. He has a future.
Gorkys is replacing Alex Presley. He is literally the only outfield option that makes sense.
I’ve been saying for weeks now that first base isn’t the problem, outfield is. It remains true. Hopefully Gorkys can provide a spark at the top of the lineup.
This isn’t just the right move, it’s the only logical one.
