The Pittsburgh Pirates made moves to improve their roster for the future before the trade deadline this past season.
Although the Pirates finished with a 76-86 record for the second season in a row, the team has some positives to look forward to for next season. Pittsburgh has one of the best pitching staffs in the league, headlined by phenom Paul Skenes. The Pirates have solid young players like Nick Yorke, who they acquired from the Boston Red Sox before the trade deadline.
Yorke expressed his excitement for the change of scenery and opportunity in Pittsburgh.
“I’m happy for the opportunity over here, and I’m excited for it (with) all the young pitching and superstars like Oneil Cruz and all those guys,” Yorke said. “Hopefully, I can add this heart and hustle to it. I’m going to show up every day and go 110 percent so hopefully whatever I could do out there will help.”
“I try to stay in the moment (and) work on my breath,’ Yorke said. “It’s easy to get ahead of yourself. It’s easy to play (general manager). It’s easy to do all these things in this game because it’s so mental. I’ve been working a lot on trying to take a step back [and] take a breath. Understand where you’re at. Be happy where you’re at [and] be happy where you’re going and just try to be in the moment.”
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Yorke briefly played at the end of the season, appearing in 11 games for the Pirates. He slashed .216/.286/.378 with two home runs and five RBIs in 37 at-bats with the Pirates and .303/.385/.449 with 12 home runs and 72 RBIs across Double-A and Triple-A. Yorke’s versatility could position him well to play a major role for Pittsburgh next season.
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