Pirates Place Veteran Infielder on Waivers

Kiner-Falefa served as the main shortstop for the Pirates throughout the first four months of the season, with 93 starts in 94 appearances there, before they traded third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds on July 30.

The Pirates kept Kiner-Falefa at the trade deadline, despite him being in the second year of his two-year, $15 million deal he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays before the 2024 season. He joined the Pirates at the 2024 trade deadline, with second baseman prospect Charles McAdoo sent up north.

He then moved over to third base, where he started 20 games in the month of August, with Jared Triolo taking over as the starting shortstop and Liover Peguero filling in at times.

Kiner-Falefa slashed .268/.304/.337 for an OPS of .641 in 117 games with the Pirates in 2025. He had 105 hits in 392 at-bats, 20 doubles, two triples, one home run, 35 RBIs, 17 walks to 65 strikeouts and 15 stolen bases on 19 attempts.

He has both the fifth worst OPS and slugging percentage amongst qualified batters in 2025, with the Pirates having both the worst OPS (.657) and slugging percentage (.352) in the MLB as a team.

Triolo has done incredibly well since coming back up with the Pirates on Aug. 1 from Triple-A Indianapolis. He has slashed .338/.430/.500 for an OPS of .930 in 25 games in August, with 27 hits in 80 at-bats, five doubles, one triple, two home runs, eight RBIs, 13 walks to 18 strikeouts and four stolen bases.

The Pirates also have infield options that can replace Kiner-Falefa if another team claims him off waivers.

This includes Nick Yorke, who MLB Pipeline has as the 11th best prospect in the Pirates system, He has played mostly at second base, but also can play in the outfield and move around if needed.

Cam Devanney, who also plays at Indianapolis like Yorke, might serve as the most likely option. He's played both shortstop and third base, since the Pirates acquired him in the Adam Frazier trade with the Kansas City Royals, which is where Kiner-Falefa played most.

Devanney has slashed .264/.336/.372 for an OPS of .708 in 33 games with Indianapolis, with 34 hits in 129 at-bats, six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 walks to 3 strikeouts.

The Pirates begin a three-game, weekend series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park this weekend, Aug. 29-31.