This week’s mailbag gets into the Pirates’ third base situation, the best shortstop of 2026, projections for Kazuma Okamoto and Cody Ponce, and thoughts on the Nationals, Cardinals, and Mets.
Don asks:
Is Isaac Paredes the Pirates’ best option for a trade upgrade at third base? What might that cost be in prospects/players?
John asks:
I think the Pirates should give some serious prospects up to acquire CJ; the Bucs seem to be one bat short. What do you think? Will Jared Jones do it?
Jared Triolo is the projected starter at the hot corner for the Pirates. The 28-year-old won a utility player Gold Glove in 2024 and will play a strong third base. It’s a position where a 96 wRC+ at the plate is average, and Triolo projects around 90. He was able to cut his strikeout rate last year, but hasn’t really shown any power since A-ball.
Triolo is a 2-WAR guy per 650 PA. Total value-wise, he’s arguably on par with offensive-minded additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. It’s just easier to get excited about a 30-homer bat like Lowe, even when he gives a ton of his value back as one of the worst defensive second basemen in the game. And Triolo is making near the league minimum, not eight figures.
I went into this exercise thinking Triolo would be one of the game’s worst regular third basemen, but I didn’t realize how bleak that landscape is. On a per 650 PA basis – which is quite generous to injury-prone “regulars” such Royce Lewis and Yoan Moncada – Triolo’s 2.0 WAR projection from The Bat X ranks 18th. There’s no real reason to think guys like Caleb Durbin or Nolan Arenado will out-perform Triolo this year.
Of the three players directly ahead of Triolo – so close as to be considered a wash – two of them are Alec Bohm and Paredes. They both seemed somewhat available this winter, and they make a lot more money than Triolo, but they’re not clearly better.
I’d say 14 third basemen represent a clear upgrade on Triolo for 2026. Here they are along with thoughts on whether the Pirates could’ve acquired them:
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