Pittsburg, PA
Pirates fans should brace for the most likely free agent fix at third base
The Pittsburgh Pirates have done a lot of work this offseason, but questions still remain. One of the most burning issues is how they plan to solve the left side of the infield.
Shortstop likely has an in-house solution, with Konnor Griffin to receive every opportunity to make the opening day roster, and is nearly guaranteed to ascend to the bigs early in 2026 if it doesn’t happen immediately after spring training.
Third base is the real conundrum in Pittsburgh. The Pirates would have loved to pencil in Kazuma Okamoto at the hot corner, but they came up short thanks to an 11th-hour push by the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency.
To his credit, Ben Cherington recognizes the issue, and the club has been in contact with free-agent third basemen Eugenio Suarez and Yoan Moncada. Suarez––and his bat––would be the fans’ preference, but his age and salary demands make him a tough fit for Pittsburgh.
That leaves a Moncada signing to platoon with the glove-first Jared Triolo as the most likely outcome, and there are a number of reasons why.
A Yoan Moncada-Jared Triolo platoon at third is the Pirates’ most likely solution for the hot corner
First, a history lesson. A little over a decade ago, the Boston Red Sox gave a then-20-year-old Moncada a record-setting $31.5 million signing bonus as an international free agent and quickly became the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball.
The man at the helm of the Red Sox at the time? None other than Ben Cherington.
Moncada played all of eight games in Boston before he was shipped off to the Chicago White Sox in a trade to land Chris Sale.
There’s an obvious connection there, and while Moncada’s career hasn’t panned out exactly as expected, his 2025 campaign was something of a resurgence. Sort of.
As the White Sox began to disintegrate and many of their young talents stagnated, Moncada hit several bumps in the road. The 2022 saw him post a career-worst 76 wRC+, while 2023 was a bit of a rebound to a league-average mark, and 2024 was nearly wiped out entirely by injury. From 2022 through last season, the Cuban native has averaged just 73 games played per season.
Moncada logged 84 games played in 2025 as a variety of ailments limited his availability, but it was still a vast improvement over the 12 contests he appeared in during the 2024 season.
Moncada’s bat rebounded to a degree, too. His .234/.336/.448 line was 18% better than league average, his .214 ISO was his best power performance since his 2019 breakout, and his 11.1% walk rate helped him get on base at a healthy clip despite the poor batting average and 26% strikeout rate.
Injuries are obviously a concern, but power and patience are two things Pittsburgh’s lineup could still use. While Moncada is a switch-hitter, he’s really become more of a platoon bat at this point in his career. Last season, he posted an .815 OPS against righties and a putrid .477 mark against southpaws.
That’s where Triolo comes in. He’s is a superior defender to Moncada after injuries sapped his athleticism, and the Pirates’ utilityman performed very well against left-handed pitching last season, slashing .275/.339/.459.
In a timeshare with Moncada, Triolo can help keep the 30-year-old healthy, and between the two of them, the Pirates could get a roughly .800 OPS type of performance out of third base. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Moncada will also come much cheaper than Suarez, who brings a lot of the same concerns (aside from health) to the table.
A Moncada-Triolo platoon might not be a ceiling raiser, but it does give the Pirates a higher floor as long as Moncada can stay healthy enough to hold up the strong side of the platoon. And sometimes, raising the floor is all you really need.
Pittsburg softball improved to 16-4 on the season by sweeping host Kansas City Piper 17-1 in five innings and 15-3 in six innings Saturday afternoon.
Breck Slaughter earned the win in both games. She allowed one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks over five innings during the opener. Then, she allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks over three innings.
AnnaLynn Hudson pitched the last three innings of the day for the Purple Dragons.
Offensively, Pittsburg scored 17 runs on 20 hits during the opener and all nine Dragons reached the hit column. Kenleigh Warford led with four hits, Breck Slaughter and Micah Gomez each had three and Brecken Campbell, Brette Pasteur, Laney Trisler and Emily Shriver each had two. Slaughter, Trisler and Gomez each doubled twice and Pasteur and Shriver also recorded two-baggers. Brilee Mantooth homered. Gomez led the Dragons with four RBI, Campbell had three and Trisler, Mantooth and Shriver drove in two each.
The Dragons closed out their sweep with 15 runs on just 11 hits. Pasteur had a monster performance at the plate with four runs scored, three hits in three at-bats, two home runs and five RBI; she also worked a pair of walks and proved to be an utter pain for Piper pitchers Reagan Asbury and Harper Cordill.
Campbell also homered and finished with three hits for the Dragons. Slaughter and Shriver both finished with two hits and both seniors doubled.
Pittsburg won four games during the week and outscored Labette County, Independence and Piper by a combined 59-11. The Dragons return to Southeast Kansas League play on the road Monday against Independence; the Dragons beat the Bulldogs 14-1 in five innings last Thursday in Pittsburg.
The Dragons are looking to wrap up at least a share of the SEK League title.
Pittsburg 612 44 — 17 20 0
KC Piper 000 01 — 1 2 5
Breck Slaughter and Peyton Morey; Stella Utter and Ginny Garcia. W: Slaughter. L: Utter. 2B—PHS: Slaughter 2, Brette Pasteur, Emily Shriver, Laney Trisler 2, Micah Gomez 2; KCP: Faith Flournoy. HR—PHS: Brilee Mantooth.
——
Pittsburg 225 105 — 15 7 2
KC Piper 100 101 — 3 6 6
Breck Slaughter, AnnaLynn Hudson (4) and Peyton Morey; Reagan Asbury, Harper Cordill (5) and Faith Flournoy. W: Slaughter. L: Asbury. 2B—PHS: Slaughter. HR—PHs: Brecken Campbell, Brette Pasteur 2; KCP: Ginny Garcia.
This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/
Pittsburg, PA
Steelers insider just poured gasoline on the Aaron Rodgers fire following latest report of what he was doing in Pittsburgh
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be in Pittsburgh over the weekend, with the thought that a deal would get done. One Steelers insider backs the report, but adds details that only compound a messy situation.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
At this point, the events of the past two seasons between Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers could probably be a book or movie. Everything from walks on the beach, to him throwing with DK Metcalf before signing, to someone capturing him driving a rental car into Pittsburgh has made waves.
This offseason was supposed to be different, and a decision from Rodgers was supposed to come much earlier. However, the Steelers remain in a holding pattern, and one that many believed would end over the weekend, after it was reported that Rodgers would be in town to sign a contract. Well, that seems to be true, but like much of this saga over the past two years, there seems to be a holdup.
Aaron Rodgers 2025 stats
- 3.4 TD to INT ratio.
- 3,322 passing yards.
- 65.7% completion percentage.
Aaron Rodgers visited Pittsburgh, but not the Steelers over the weekend
“Aaron Rodgers has been in town for a couple days, but the Steelers have not met with him yet and instead have been talking with his agent. Rodgers has stayed away from the team’s South Side facility while the three-day rookie minicamp has been going on.” – Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The news from Dulac comes on the heels of the report from 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh that Rodgers would be visiting the Steelers over the weekend, with the intention to sign his deal.
That report was backed up nationally by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, but some in Steelers media (Mark Kaboly) said that if Rodgers was going to be in town, that was news to the team.
Omar Khan said as much during a radio hit after the reports surfaced, saying that he didn’t know where Rodgers was, but that talks remained fluid. Of course, general managers, including Omar Khan, have been known to bend the truth, which seems to lie somewhere in the middle here.
The bottom line with Aaron Rodgers
It’s obvious to me that the Steelers and Rodgers are held up over money. I know that it was said to not be the case, but you don’t intentionally avoid meeting with a team and have your agent talk to them, just days after they use a tender that determines your 2026 salary, if you’re just going to sign.
I would be surprised if Rodgers doesn’t sign at this point, but it doesn’t change the monetary situation that needs to be worked out here.
Kennywood honored two longtime employees Saturday who together have worked at the park for a combined 100 years.
Larry Russ and Bobby Trygar started working at Kennywood in 1976.
Russ began his Kennywood career as a games employee, working at the Big Apple dart game. In 1980, Russ applied to the security team and has held positions there ever since, including roles as a corporal, lieutenant, chief, and captain, according to a press release provided by the park.
Trygar began his time at Kennywood by working in the Parkside Café. Since he joined Kennywood, he has helped to maintain some of the park’s most iconic attractions, including the Racer, Log Jammer, and Merry Go Round.
“This is something you dream about. It’s so amazing,” Trygar said. “One of the best things when I worked out here was when I met my wife on the Racer. I was the mechanic. It’s just a great feeling to come here every day, see smiles on people’s faces, it’s tremendous. It gives you that extra boost and happiness.”
“I was planning on going into the mill, like everyone else was during my era,” Russ said. “Of course, the mill shut down. My father told me, ‘You don’t want to [work at the mill]. This place isn’t going to be here that much longer,’ and he was right, so I stuck it out here. I got a full-time position in 1980, and the rest is history.”
The park also dedicated two benches in their honor.
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