With Jordy Mercer on the DL, the Pirates called up SS Kevin Newman from Class AAA. Newman and 2B Kevin Kramer are the Pirates’ middle infield of the not-too-distant future – and maybe part of a “Seinfeld” re-imagining, too.
The Pirates are 5-9 in August, have lost four straight and are just about out of the National League wild-card race: 6½ games behind the second wild card, and with four teams to leapfrog.
So Newman should play. Find out what you’ve got.
Unless Newman utterly fizzles, keep playing him even when Mercer returns. Mercer will leave via free agency at season’s end, anyway.
Newman is a Pirates “prospect,” but he’s 25. Kramer is 24, Not exactly on the fast track. If the future isn’t now for these two, it’s got to be pretty soon.
The Pirates have fizzled since trading for pitchers Chris Archer and Keone Kela, but not because of those deals. GM Neal Huntington can stand behind those swaps because he has control of Archer through 2021 and Kela through 2020.
There seemed to be a lot of adrenaline when Huntington made those acquisitions. Now the Pirates are back to .500, and the players look like they know their season is over. The fans do, too: Just 21K at PNC Park last night.