After Blue Jays claim Isiah Kiner-Falefa off waivers, Pirates recall Ryan Kreidler

When Ben Cherington revealed on his weekly radio show that the Pittsburgh Pirates were adding a player to their taxi squad, the general manager was anticipating that they could need an extra player for Sunday’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox.

It proved prescient when the Toronto Blue Jays claimed Isiah Kiner-Falefa off outright waivers Sunday, in time for the shortstop/third baseman to be eligible for the postseason.

“Effectively what we’re doing with Izzy is giving it the opportunity to see if a contender has a role for him,” Cherington said on team flagship 93.7 The Fan. “If that happens, if he’s claimed today, it’s probably a good situation that he’s going into and also does open up playing time with us for other guys.”

The initial beneficiary is Ryan Kreidler, a 27-year-old shortstop/center fielder who was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 24. Kreidler was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Kreidler hit .248/.367/.413 with 26 doubles, four triples, five homers and 38 RBIs in 88 games at Triple-A this season, 84 of them coming with Toledo. He’s batted .138 with a .384 OPS in 89 games over three seasons in the majors.

“He’s a good shortstop defender, can also play center field,” Cherington said. “He’s been a strong offensive performer in the minor leagues. That hasn’t translated yet to the big leagues. … We liked the versatility. We think there’s some skills there.”

The Pirates acquired Kiner-Falefa from the Blue Jays at the 2024 trade deadline for minor league infielder Charles McAdoo and cash considerations. The 30-year-old Kiner-Falefa split time at second base and third base last season before moving to shortstop when Oneil Cruz switched to center field late last August.

Kiner-Falefa batted .264/.300/.332 with 20 doubles, two triples, a home run and 35 RBIs this season, starting 93 games at shortstop before moving to third base (24 starts) when Ke’Bryan Hayes was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds.

Left-handed reliever Tim Mayza also was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies. Mayza has been out since April while recovering from a shoulder injury and was on a rehabilitation assignment when the Pirates placed him on waivers so he could be eligible for the postseason.

“As we look at that pitching group that we have currently in the big leagues and also, frankly, some guys in Indy that we might want to see some opportunity for in the big leagues sometime in September, it got to the point where it was not clear we were going to have an active spot in the big leagues for Mayza, even in September,” Cherington said. “Once we knew that, that that was at least a possibility that we wouldn’t have an active spot, we sort of went to him and said, ‘Look, there’s a chance we get to September and don’t have an active spot. At that point, once your rehab assignment is up’ — he doesn’t have options — ‘we would have no choice but to release you in September.’”

Active rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Monday, so the Pirates can add a pitcher and position player. Their outfield depth has been tested with Ronny Simon (dislocated shoulder) and Jack Suwinski (strained groin) being placed on the 10-day injured list.

Cherington said Simon, who will have an MRI when the team returns from Boston, impressed the Pirates with his willingness to absorb a collision while making a head-first slide into home plate to score a run in the eighth inning of Friday’s 4-2 win over the Red Sox.

“Man, he sold out for that run,” Cherington said. “That may have been the only way he could’ve been safe was to make the play that way, and he did. He put his body on the line and sold out for a really important run at the time and gave us a cushion. Just a great, aggressive play by him, making a sacrifice for the team. We’ll do what we can to help him feel better. He’ll recover from it but it’s going to be awhile.”

Cherington said Suwinski has been playing with the groin issue “for a while” and that he was “just not as explosive as we’re used to seeing him play,” so the team shut him down in hopes he could return this month instead of being forced to sit out the rest of the season.

“These are important games for him,” Cherington said. “We don’t want him playing at half-mast, so to speak. It’s important that he’s out there at full capacity. Hopefully, we got it early enough that he’s going to be able to recover and come back and play this season and hopefully, finish the season strong. It is a tough blow. We felt like if we push this thing any further the risk is that it gets bad enough he could miss the rest of the season. We were trying to get by without doing that but made a determination. Let’s try to preserve a little time in September by letting this thing calm down now.”

One of the newcomers who could see some playing time in their absence is Cam Devanney, who made his major league debut Sunday by starting at third base against the Red Sox. The Pirates acquired Devanney from the Kansas City Royals in the Adam Frazier trade in mid-July.

“It’s a cool story,” Cherington said of Devanney, a native of Nashua, N.H. “Little bit of a late bloomer. He’s been a strong performer in Triple-A for two or three years. Obviously, blocked behind Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia on the left side of Kansas City’s infield. That’s the strength of their team. …

“We were looking for an opportunity to get him up here and get him some playing time and expose him to the big leagues. He’s a guy that can play shortstop and third (and) he’s got some right-handed pull power that has played well at Fenway Park in the past.”