{"id":83122,"date":"2024-08-14T22:29:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T02:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=83122"},"modified":"2024-08-14T22:29:58","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T02:29:58","slug":"pirates-should-keep-kiner-falefa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/14\/pirates-should-keep-kiner-falefa\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Should Keep Trade Acquisition Past Current Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amidst the current string of bad play, one player who has stood out for the Pittsburgh Pirates is Isiah Kiner-Falefa<\/a>. General manager Ben Cherington acquired<\/a> him from the Toronto Blue Jays during a busy day of trade deadline deals<\/a>. Kiner-Falefa, 29, is in the first year of a two-year, $15 million contract, after which he becomes a free agent.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, since his arrival from a brief rehab assignment, the Bucs are 1-10. It\u2019s reminiscent of the 2011 season when the Pirates acquired Ryan Ludwick<\/a> and Derrek Lee<\/a> at the deadline to bolster a contending team. They promptly lost the next seven home games, four to the Chicago Cubs and three to the San Diego Padres, and fell out of the race. Similarly, no matter how Cherington sugarcoats it, the 2024 Pirates have fallen out of the National League Wild Card race. Once again, the Padres played a key role, sweeping two three-game series.<\/p>\n

Pirates Should Keep Kiner-Falefa Past Current Contract<\/h2>\n

Cherington should strongly consider offering Kiner-Falefa a contract extension for a reasonable period of years. The following will seem strange in light of the Pirates\u2019 current 10-game losing streak. However, one thing has become clear in the 11 games he\u2019s played for the Pirates, admittedly a small sample size. Kiner-Falefa is a winning ballplayer.<\/p>\n

Not One Content to Lose<\/h3>\n

This was evident on Tuesday in San Diego. In the seventh inning, Kiner-Falefa single-handedly tried to will the Pirates to victory. With the Padres ahead, 2-0, Kiner-Falefa led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch from Jason Adam<\/a>. In doing so, he stuck out his left elbow ever so slightly. He took a beating on social media for what was deemed a cheap, shameless maneuver. Hey, his job there was to get on base any way he could. Kiner-Falefa works for the Pirates, not for a bunch of social media geeks with nothing better to do.<\/p>\n

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Oh that’s tough pic.twitter.com\/avTjZZzkte<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n