Pirates Claim Former Giants Ranked Prospect Off Waivers

Pirates Claim Former Prospect Marco Luciano

Luciano, no relation to the late former umpire Ron Luciano or opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti, was signed as a free agent by the Giants in 2018 when he was 17 years old. Once a ranked prospect, he fell off the various prospect lists last season. He had been ranked as high as No. 8 by Baseball Prospectus in 2021, the same year he appeared in the Futures Game, going 0-for-1 with a walk for the National League. Luciano has seen action at second base, shortstop, and left field in the minor leagues.

The right-handed-batting Luciano has hit .246/.335/.455, 88 HR, and 297 RBI across all levels in six minor league seasons. This past season, he hit .214/.335/.413, 23 HR, and 66 RBI at Triple-A Sacramento. However, that came with 170 strikeouts in 555 plate appearances. In light of the fact that batting stats are inflated in the Pacific Coast League, where Sacramento competes, it wasn’t an impressive performance. The Giants gave him a shot under the bright lights in 2023 and 2024. Luciano responded by hitting .217/.286/.304 in 41 games.

Luciano is out of minor league options, and thus the Pirates must keep him on the major league roster or risk losing him to a waiver claim. Even so, this is a good low-risk move by the Pirates, though it’s likely to be met by derision from their weary fan base. However, they’re short on middle infield organizational depth after waiving Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae last month. If Luciano reaches the potential his former pedigree once suggested, he’ll be a significant upgrade over those individuals.

Robertson, We Hardly Knew Ye

The Pirates had claimed Robertson off waivers from the Chicago White Sox last October. Turning 28 next month, the left-handed power-hitting outfielder is “old” for a prospect. Last season at Triple-A, he hit .289/.387/.571, 20 HR, and 60 RBI. For the Orioles, this is a similar low-risk gamble. Robertson had a taste of the major leagues last year with the Chisox and Toronto Blue Jays, going 9-for-70 in 27 games. The Pirates’ 40-man roster wasn’t full before Luciano was added. Thus, there was no reason to waive Robertson, unless Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has something else up his sleeve. Stay tuned.