The chances of the Pirates having a legitimately good infield went down the tubes when Jung-Ho Kang’s visa application got denied. It’s not that anybody was terrible, because they weren’t. David Freese did just about what should have been expected, performing at a below-average but not terrible level for a third baseman. Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer probably exceeded reasonable expectations by just a bit, with Harrison probably a bit above average and Mercer average at second and short, respectively. (Of course, that doesn’t satisfy a certain segment of Pirate fans who bizarrely consider Mercer to be the biggest barrier between the Pirates and greatness, or something.
Post-mortem on the Pirates’ infield
