After red-hot start in minors, Nick Solak trying to make most of opportunities with Pirates

As a manager who enjoyed a playing career of nearly a decade, Don Kelly can relate closely to those on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster whom he now leads.

Nothing came guaranteed to Kelly during his MLB days as he was designated for assignment a total of nine times.

Like he recently joked with reporters at PNC Park, Kelly used up all of his cat lives as a player.

Having to scratch and claw for his place on a big-league roster, Kelly can connect with Nick Solak especially, who was promoted to the Pirates on May 16 after producing a .393 batting average at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Solak, 30, has been designated for assignment five times in the past two years after spending parts of four seasons with the Texas Rangers, for whom he appeared in 253 games.

Now, Solak has leveraged his red-hot presence at the plate in Triple-A into a fresh look in the big leagues.

“He earned this opportunity,” Kelly said. “It’s tough to do what he went through. To hit .390 with the numbers that he was putting up in Triple-A, I know (he’s) not off to the start he would like up here, but, again, just trying to help him stay within himself and continue to do the things he did in Triple-A and not do too much.”

Solak has indeed gotten off to a slow offensive start with the Pirates: He’s batted .100 in three games.

That said, Solak is adjusting to a bench role in Pittsburgh, where at-bats have been far less frequent than what he was receiving with the Indians as an everyday player.

Since being called up, he has received three starts and 10 at-bats.

His last start came May 19 against the Cincinnati Reds.

It’s a position he’s been in before.

“I’ve had that experience before at both the big-league and Triple A level at different points in my career,” Solak said. “So I’ve had some practice at it. I think it’s about when your name’s in the lineup, doing the best you can at putting together good at-bats, and when it’s not, you’re not starting, staying ready to pinch-hit or during the game, staying locked in.

“You’re not physically getting at-bats, but mentally, locking in with watching the pitcher and at-bat. It’s always staying ready, whatever the role may be.”

Originally a second-round (No. 62 overall) draft pick out of Louisville by the Yankees in 2016, Solak was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 and the Rangers the following year.

Making his big-league debut with Texas in 2019, Solak put together an encouraging campaign during his 33 games that season before emerging as a regular player for the Rangers during the covid-condensed 2020 season.

That year, he slashed .268/.326/.344 with two homers, 10 doubles and 23 RBIs in 58 games.

The 2021 season contained his most significant MLB action as he appeared in a career-high 127 games, batting .242 with 11 homers and 49 RBIs.

Solak had been up and down between the big leagues and Triple-A in 2022 when he fractured his foot in September.

Two months later, his time with the Rangers was over as Texas traded him to the Reds.

“It had its ups and downs,” Solak said of his Rangers days. “It’s a really special place that I got to debut in the big leagues at. Making your major-league debut with that organization was so awesome. And then some of those rebuilding years were tough, just trying to play well. But overall, a lot of good experiences. I had good stretches, bad stretches — how this game goes.

“It was a special place. I really enjoyed my time there, and I enjoyed the people there. I look back, and it was a place that’s special and also taught me a lot about myself as a player and as a person.”

Whatever momentum Solak had crafted with the Rangers, he has struggled to replicate in the major leagues since, appearing in only five games since 2022.

Before the Pirates brought him aboard in December on a minor-league contract, he had been designated for assignment by the Reds, Mariners, White Sox, Braves and Tigers. But Solak’s .393/.452/.625 slash line at Triple-A was too eye-popping to keep him in the minor leagues forever.

Defensive versatility also played a role in Solak’s recall to the Pirates. After spending most of his career as an outfielder and second baseman, Solak has added first base to the mix.

Through his handful of starts with the Pirates, two have come at first base and one at second.

“I’ve played a lot of different positions on the field and practice and work at all those, too,” Solak said. “I think at this point, it ends up being that utility box and wherever the team needs me to play.”

Currently, Solak’s place with the Pirates is complicated because of first baseman Spencer Horwitz’s return from injury.

Furthermore, second baseman Nick Gonzales, a player the Pirates will be eager to plug back into the lineup, is also closing in on a return from an ankle fracture suffered in late March.

As he continues to navigate his current opportunity in the majors, Solak is focused solely on making the most of it.

“Just putting together good at-bats, not trying to do too much, playing the game and letting it play out,” he said.