Earlier this week in the midst of wrapping up an incredibly miserable homestand, Pittsburgh Pirates director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk spoke to reporters about all the injuries within the organization.
Amongst everything that was discussed, Tomczyk brought up arguably the two most polarizing names in recent club history; Sean Rodriguez and Jung Ho Kang.
I am not here to beat the Sean Rodriguez horse. We all know how bad he has been this season and I would hope that his days with the Pirates are limited.
However, the player that I do want to discuss is Kang. Has there ever been a bigger shooting star in Pirates history than Jung Ho?
In his first year with the Bucs he became an immediate fan favorite.
He played hard, hit well and made the front office look brilliant for bringing him into town. After going through all of the ups and downs with Pedro Alvarez at third base, Kang’s 2015 season made fans believe that he would not only be a solid replacement, but an upgrade.
As we all know, this simply did not happen. While Kang had flashes of excellence at the plate in 2016, following his rookie year, he was more known for what he did off the field, rather than on it.
The player who was once greeted by one of the loudest ovations in PNC Park history (during the player introductions before the 2015 National League Wild Card Game) is approaching his second straight year without playing a game in the major leagues. Despite gaining some attention after his return to the organization earlier in the season, injuries have once again derailed Kang’s progress leaving many to wonder if he will ever play a significant role for the Pirates again.
It seems that the Pirates have yet to lose complete faith.
“The short term goal for this week is to have him pick up a bat by the end of the week and we will see where that takes us” said Tomczyk on Wednesday.
“We are still hopeful and optimistic that (Kang) will have some meaningful at bats, whether if that will be in Triple-A or the in the big leagues with us by the end of this season.”
After all of the ups and downs that he has personally experienced in the past two years, it is hard to imagine Kang getting any legitimate playing time in the major leagues by the end of September.
However, what if he does?
What if Kang exceeds expectations and actually does get playing time with the Bucs in the final weeks of the year? Better yet, what if he actually performs well?
Third base is by no means a position where the Pirates should feel secure. David Freese is not getting any younger and Colin Moran has shown no signs of being anything more than an average ball player at best.
If Kang can show signs of being able to return to his old self at the plate one would have to imagine that he would be a better option to start over both in 2019.
Kang could potentially be the infield power bat that the Pirates are in desperate need of.
Despite not hitting a major league homerun since the Obama Administration was in office, Kang still might be the best option to bat cleanup within the entire Pirates organization.
Unless the front office once again decides to shock the baseball world and bring in a legitimate power hitter this offseason, Kang might be the only immediate hope for the club improving the middle of the lineup in 2019. While his defense might still be a question, in all honesty it cannot be much worse than what the Bucs currently have.
So as the Pirates approach the point in the season where everyone is searching for things to look at for next year, keep Kang in mind. He might be hurt, rusty and an overall long shot but if he can make it back to where he once was, the Bucs will be in a much better place.
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