{"id":101584,"date":"2025-06-04T18:13:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T22:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=101584"},"modified":"2025-06-04T18:13:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T22:13:58","slug":"pirates-face-decision-isiah-kiner-falefa-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/04\/pirates-face-decision-isiah-kiner-falefa-trade-deadline\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Face Decision on Isiah Kiner-Falefa"},"content":{"rendered":"

With June comes trade rumors, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have decisions to make on expiring contracts, notably shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa<\/a>. The Pirates enter Wednesday\u2019s action with a 22-39 record. They\u2019re in last place in the National League Central Division, 16 \u00bd games out of first place and 10 \u00bd games out of the last Wild Card spot. Every expert baseball observer and casual fan predicts the Pirates will be sellers at the trade deadline. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington insists things will turn around and the Pirates will get back in the race. However, he\u2019s alone in that belief. Once the deadline approaches, he\u2019ll have to either face reality or be derelict in his duty.<\/p>\n

Pirates Face Decision on Kiner-Falefa: Keep or Trade?<\/h2>\n

Unless Cherington\u2019s instincts are correct and the Pirates magically find themselves in contention, retaining Kiner-Falefa past the deadline makes sense only if they sign him to a contract extension or believe they can. That\u2019s not how they usually do business. Then again, there\u2019s a first time for everything, and the Pirates\u2019 way hasn\u2019t been working since 2016. He\u2019s in the second year of a two-year, $15 million contract he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays before the Pirates obtained him in a deadline deal<\/a> last year. The deal included some cash going the Pirates\u2019 way to offset some of that cost. Kiner-Falefa had been unhappy playing for former manager<\/a> Derek Shelton<\/a>. He likes playing for the new manager Don Kelly<\/a>. He\u2019s a distant cousin of Pirates Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner<\/a> and seemed genuinely moved to meet Ralph\u2019s son Scott<\/a> earlier this season.<\/p>\n

The Case for Keeping Kiner-Falefa<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s pretend the Pirates try to persuade him to stick around. Kiner-Falefa, 30, has been one of the Pirates’ better players this season. At the close of Tuesday\u2019s action, he\u2019s hitting .310\/.356\/.393 with a 110 OPS+ and 110 wRC+. Among qualifiers, Kiner-Falefa leads the Pirates in batting average and is second in OBP. He typically bats ninth in the order, where he\u2019s in front of the Pirates\u2019 \u201cbig three\u201d hitters, Oneil Cruz<\/a>, Bryan Reynolds<\/a>, and Andrew McCutchen<\/a>. His placement in the bottom position has been the subject of debate, but it\u2019s resulted in him scoring 21 runs, tied for second on the club.<\/p>\n

The versatile \u201cIKF\u201d has played every position on the field except first base. In the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season, he won a Gold Glove Award for his work at third base with the Texas Rangers. This season, he\u2019s played strictly at shortstop<\/a> but for one appearance at third. He\u2019s committed six errors and been credited with one Defensive Run Saved (DRS) and -1 Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA). He\u2019d previously played shortstop regularly in 2021 with Texas and 2022 with the New York Yankees. He played the position well.<\/p>\n

In 2021, he led the majors with 436 assists, 98 double plays, and a 4.17 Range Factor Per Game (RF\/G). The major league average RF\/G that season was 3.72. Thus, despite committing 19 errors, if we extrapolate his RF\/G figures, he fielded 70 more balls than the average shortstop over the 156 games he played. He was credited with five FRAA and 12 DRS in 2021. In 2022, his RF\/9 and RF\/G dropped below average, but he was still credited with six FRAA and 10 DRS. In 2025, his 4.03 Range Factor per Nine Innings (RF\/9) and 3.90 RF\/G are again above MLB average.<\/p>\n

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This is going on my locker! I wonder who lead the A.L in defensive war last year. https:\/\/t.co\/GHLj7nXSZq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Isiah Kiner-Falefa (@Isiahkf11) March 24, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n