Malcom Nuñez Looks to Carry Big Chip on His Shoulder In 2024
Prior to the 2022 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had signed veteran lefty Jose Quintana. The move was viewed as a reclamation project, since Quintana had struggled, but had a past track record.
As it turned out, the Quintana signing paid dividends for the Pirates. On the eve of the ‘22 trade deadline, Pittsburgh dealt Quintana, along with Chris Stratton, to the St. Louis Cardinals. One of the two pieces the Pirates received in return was Johan Oviedo, who is now recovering from Tommy John surgery. The other was Malcom Nuñez.
Following the trade, Nuñez reported to AA Altoona. He provided steady, production for the Curve, as he registered a line of .286/.381/.476, in 126 plate appearances.
After getting a brief, cup of coffee, with AAA Indianapolis towards the end of 2022, Nuñez began last season as a member of the Indians. It was in late-May that Nuñez sustained a shoulder impingement. He returned to Indianapolis on August 8th, but was never able to get on track offensively, slashing .237/.314/.357, in a total of only 271 plate appearances.
Heading into last offseason, Nuñez was Rule 5 eligible for a second time. Just like the offseason prior, the Pirates chose not to place Nuñez on the 40-man roster; thus exposing him to the draft. He would not be selected.
Nuñez has seem to lost some prospect luster, as MLB Pipeline doesn’t have him ranked among Top 30 Pirates prospects, this after putting him #16 last year. In addition, the Pirates themselves didn’t even make Nuñez a non-roster invite, for big league camp in spring training.
Nuñez is back with the Indianapolis Indians to begin 2024. The native of La Habana, Cuba is off to a good start, as he’s put up a .272/.302/.521 line thru 14 games. He has three homers to lead the Indians, while his 25 total bases are currently third most on the team.
On the defensive side, Nuñez has played 10 games at third base and four games at first base.
At this juncture, it’s difficult to say how the Pirates ultimately view Nuñez. He’s pretty limited defensively, and should he get called up to Pittsburgh, third base wouldn’t really be an option for him since Jared Triolo is the best choice they have to back up Ke’Bryan Hayes at the hot corner. As for first base, perhaps an opportunity could arise for Nuñez, in the event of a Rowdy Tellez or Connor Joe injury.
Another possible situation is if the Pirates are in a position to contend and become buyers at the trade deadline, that Nuñez could be looked upon as a potential piece to move in a deal, such as getting a veteran reliever to help strengthen the bullpen.
Whether Nuñez will be apart of the Pirates’ future plans, or eventually playing for another organization, this season is good chance to bank on himself as an offensive performer.