The Pittsburgh Pirate's signing of David Freese helped solidify their infield depth while providing a proven veteran presence that will help the Pirates moving forward in 2016
Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a move that will help solidify their problem with infield depth. They signed veteran infielder David Freese to a one year 3 million dollar deal. Freese experienced the Pirates rise over the last couple years as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals from 2009-2013. During his time with the Cardinals he won a World Series back in 2011 and was named World Series MVP that same year.
Most recently, Freese has been a member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the last two season. In 2015 he hit .257 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 121 games played. Freese has played most of his career at third base, but can also play first base as well. Freese provides some infield depth that this team has been desperately looking for.
A plus about Freese is his ability to get extra base hits. Last season, 37 percent of his hits went for extra bases. He uses the gaps effectively and has some pop in his bat that will be a key factor at PNC Park. He has shown that he can be a key contributor as he was an offensive leader for the Cardinals during his time with them.
Freese's power numbers is another thing that jumps out at me. His 14 home runs were the second most for his career, only behind his 20 home runs that he hit back in the 2012 season. Freese's power might go down a little bit this year with the big left field at PNC Park but having a little pop off of the bench is never a bad thing.
Freese can also find holes when he makes contact as his 2015 BABIP sat at .338. If Freese can prove that he can consistently hit the ball, he could find himself in the lineup more and more often. Freese has shown flashes of success and could be a consistent contributor to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016.
One thing that Freese has to work on is his patience at the plate. In 424 at bats last season, Freese only walked 31 times. As a guy coming off the bench, you have to be able to work the count and tire out the opposing pitcher. Freese only saw 3.89 pitches per at bat last season and needs to improve upon that number in order to be effective off of the Pirates bench.
Overall, Freese has been a pretty solid defender throughout his career. He holds a career .955 fielding percentage at the third base position. He is not a fantastic defender by any means, but he can get to the ball and make most of the plays that need to be made. Last season, he committed 8 errors in 241 chances at third base.
He also has some experience at first base playing 21 innings there in his career. With the log jam of players at first base however, I dont see Freese playing much there. However, he has yet to commit an error at first base where he holds a 1.000 fielding percentage in a very small sample size. For Freese, the key will be to be a solid pinch hitter and give Jung Ho Kang a few off days during the regular season.
Freese will more than likely be the opening day starter at third base with Jung Ho Kang still recovering from off-season knee surgery. However, when Kang returns, Freese will more than likely be used as a back up at first and third base possibly seeing some time in the corner outfield position. With a log jam of versatile players, the Pirates bench could be playing all over the field throughout the season.
I really like the Freese signing as it brings in both a security blanket for the beginning of the regular season as well as a reliable back up that the Pirates can utilize when Kang returns to the starting lineup. Freese has proven that he can be successful and looks to help the Pirates in chasing down the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs for the National League Central Title.
With Opening Day only 21 days away, the regular season will be here before you know it. For the Pirates and David Freese there is a lot of work ahead, but it will be all worth it when you finally here the roar at PNC Park on Opening Day when everyone will sound together the chant of every Pirates fan, "Let's Go Bucs."
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