Looking at a potential fit for Canaan Smith-Njigba

Does CSN still have a role for the Pirates while taking up a 40-man spot?

Photo Credit: WTM

There have been large parts of time with the organization since being acquired in the Jameson Taillon trade that it feels like Canaan Smith-Njigba has been overlooked.

He’s built like he should be chasing down running backs on Sundays, yet he runs well in the outfield defensively. The frame gives him more power potential than some of his numbers might suggest.

He broke camp with the team after arguably being the best player this past season in Spring Training.

Things did not go well for him in 15 games, batting .125/.216/.219 with a wRC+ of 17 and a WAR of -0.5. He put up a strong walk rate, but also struck out 43.2% of his plate appearances.

He tore up Triple-A after getting sent down, stealing 21 bases, hitting 15 home runs, and driving in 74 runs while walking 11.4% of the time.

While he was playing for Indianapolis, another left-handed hitting outfielder was trying to lay claim to the right field position, or at least a stake in it, after his clutch play in 2023 with the Pirates.

The total numbers weren’t great, but there were few hitters to succeed like Joshua Palacios did in late-game situations. When the Pirates needed a big hit, he seemed to come through.

His 83 wRC+ and 0 WAR indicate that he didn’t do much else outside of those situations.

So, with Endy Rodriguez out for the season and Henry Davis switching back to catcher, that opens up some potential playing time in right field.

The Pirates traded for Edward Olivares, a right-handed hitter with more success against lefties. This opens the door to a potential platoon situation with Palacios or Smith-Njigba.

Of course, Olivares’ platoon splits aren’t that wide, so he may not have to be platooned, but it is an option depending on how the roster continues to shape up.

Smith-Njigba brings a solid approach to the plate, with a career minor league walk rate of 14.4%, but did have a little more of a swing-and-miss issue than he did in previous years, especially against off-speed pitches (16.3% swinging strike rate).

The Taillon trade looked like it had some promise. Miguel Yajure would be a fast-to-the-majors back-of-the-rotation starter. Roansy Contreras emerged as a Top 100 prospect, and Smith-Njigba emerged as a potential bench piece. Even Maikol Escotto flashed a lot of raw power and played in an advanced league for his age.

Now Escotto is stuck in High-A, Roansy is out of options and hasn’t established himself in the rotation yet, and Yajure is playing in Japan.

There’s still a chance Smith-Njigba can catch on as a bench player, as he only has 44 career plate appearances in the majors, but it will have to be seen if he will get that opportunity with the Pirates.