First base, right field and even the rotation are rightfully receiving a lot of attention when it comes to potential Pirates moves this offseason but one area which has been largely ignored probably deserves a closer look. The Pirates remain paper thin at the non-1B infield positions. This is true not just at the major league level but throughout the entire minor league system. The Pirates projects to play a lot of organizational players or guys close to that status at these positions next year. While that is not something that can be addressed quickly over time the Pirates are going to have to do something about. At the top level the need is a little more urgent.
Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Jordy Mercer project to handle 2B, 3B and SS respectively this upcoming season. Beyond them is comically little depth. The only other two players in the organization that have spent a significant amount of time at one or more of those positions at the AAA level or higher are Josh Harrison and Chase d'Arnaud. Those two would be fine depth players but right now they are the immediate fall back plans at all 3 positions.
Currently projected to man the rest of the upper level spots are some combination of Matt Hague, Adalberto Santos, Jarek Cunningham, Dan Gamache, Andy Vasquez, Alen Hanson, Gift Ngoepe, Drew Maggi and Kelson Brown. Vasquez, Maggi and Brown are firmly entrenched as upper level organizational players. Hague and Santos are possible major league depth but while Hague has played some 3B and Santos has played 2B and 3B neither should really be everyday options at those positions. Cunningham and Gamache are borderline 2B prospects who are quickly turning into more organizational depth. All that leaves is Hanson and Ngoepe. Hanson is obviously a top prospect but he probably will still require a season plus of seasoning in the minors and Ngoepe is great with the glove but would horrifically over-matched at the plate.
Looking beyond that the Pirates have no one who truly stands out as a prospect as either of these positions. Ulises Montilla had a fine season in rookie ball this year but was a bit old coming from the DSL and really doesn't have a set position (2B, 3B, OF). Eric Wood and Erich Weiss appear to the best 3B prospects but Wood is coming off a disappointing season in A ball and Weiss signed late and only played part of the year in A- and despite a hot start faded some. Shortstop has a few more interesting names as Max Moroff looks to be a possible Robbie Grossman type. Meaning he can do everything decently but his only plus tool is his plate discipline. Adam Frazier had a good start to his pro career but is seen by most scouts as a future utility player. Trae Arbet is a raw player with a ton of upside but was overmatched in rookie ball. Enyel Vallejo had a strong year in rookie ball but played only sparingly and was old for the level.
There are a few more I could mention but you get the point. Outside of Alen Hanson there is really not much of note at any of these positions. The Pirates are ridiculously thin here. The Pirates will surely try to do something to fix this but it will take time.
At the major league level the Pirates are going to have to try and cobble some sort of plan B together for these positions. I mean you never like to think about it but what if one of our 3 starters would end up missing 6 weeks or something. Would you really feel comfortable having Harrison take over 2B or 3B and/or d'Arnaud take over SS? I'm sure we will here of a few NRIs and straight minor league signings the Pirates make to fill these positions but I'm also expecting we will hear about 1 or more likely 2 major league signings to address this issue.