Just as the Pittsburgh Pirates were figuring out the left side of their infield, a knee injury has sidelined Jared Triolo and caused them to create a platoon at third base.
The Pirates placed Triolo, a 2024 National League Gold Glove winner as a utility fielder and 2025 finalist, on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a patellar tendon injury in his right knee that general manager Ben Cherington said could keep him out for weeks.
The move is retroactive to April 4, as Cherington said during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan that Triolo tweaked the knee in the second inning of the home opener Friday against the Baltimore Orioles while scoring a run on a double by Henry Davis in the second inning.
“He rounded third base, scored a run and felt something in his knee as he rounded third base hitting the bag,” Cherington said. “Obviously finished the game, but he was in pain and there was some swelling postgame. We wanted to get a better look at it yesterday, give him a chance to recover and see what happened. He was still feeling it quite a bit so we did an MRI.”
Triolo was batting .217 (5 for 23) with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in six games for the Pirates. He started five games at shortstop before the promotion of No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin, then started at third base in the home opener. Triolo did not play Saturday.
“The good news is this is the kind of injury that should be able to be rehabbed conservatively; it’s not a surgical case or anything like that,” Cherington said. “But it is going to take some time. It’s more of a weeks-long thing than a days-long thing. … It’s tough losing Tri. He’s a really important player for our roster, but I feel confident in saying he’ll be back for the lion’s share of the 2026 season, hopefully. We’ll just have to get him healthy.”
Meantime, Cherington expects Nick Gonzales and Nick Gonzales to split time at third base. Gonzales has started five games at third base and is batting .310 (9 for 29) with five RBIs, while Yorke was scheduled to make his third start there on Sunday. Yorke is batting .273 (3 for 11) with two RBIs, including a walk-off double in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Orioles.
“The opportunity now is there for both of those guys. I think you’ll see both of them, whether it’s at third base or other spots, hopefully get them both some runway and see where they take it,” Cherington said. “They’re both guys that we believe in. Not natural third basemen but they both worked really hard to become competent at that position. I believe they’ll continue to get better. For the short term, I think we’ll see a lot of both of those guys at third.”
To replace Triolo on the active roster, outfielder Billy Cook has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Cook made the Pirates’ Opening Day roster and scored a run while appearing in three games from March 28-30 before being optioned to Indianapolis on Thursday to make room for Griffin.
“That was a call I didn’t want to make, frankly,” Cherington said. “I didn’t want to do that because of how people feel about Billy, how much we like him. Hadn’t played a ton but is such a good team guy and has what we think is an important role on this team.”
Cook has yet to take his first at-bat with the Pirates this season, appearing as a pinch runner and late defensive replacement. He went 3 for 9 with a home run and two RBIs in two games at Indianapolis.
“It was good to get some at-bats,” Cook said. “You can hit off Trajekt machine, whatever, but until you get in a game, it’s not the same. So that was nice (to) see some live pitching, get out and play full nine innings and everything, just getting back in the swing of that. It’s been a minute since spring training.”