During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster.

Player: Alika Williams

Position: Shortstop

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Age: 24

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 180 pounds

2023 MLB statistics: Batted .198/.270/.248 with five doubles and six RBIs in 46 games.

Contract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2027.

Acquired: From the Tampa Bay Rays, in exchange for right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson, on June 2.

This past season: A 2020 first-round pick (No. 37 overall) whose stock slipped from No. 19 prospect in 2021 to No. 29 prior to the 2022 season, the Rays returned Williams to Double-A Montgomery.

Even worse for the slick-fielding shortstop, his path to the majors appeared to be blocked at his position by Wander Franco.

After losing Oneil Cruz to a season-ending fractured left ankle and seeing Rodolfo Castro struggle at shortstop, the Pirates acquired Williams for defensive depth at the position.

Williams batted .237/.314/.417 with 11 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 23 RBIs in 42 games at Montgomery. The Pirates assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis, and he responded by batting .305/.384/.531 with eight doubles, seven homers and 20 RBIs in 36 games.

“We saw him make significant strides, probably the best strides he’s made in the minor leagues, when he was in Triple-A this year with our group there,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The strides that he made before he got here were significant. We have to continue to work on it. In the major-league game, getting at-bats is the most important thing.”

When Tucupita Marcano was placed on the 60-day injured list with a torn ACL in his right knee, the Pirates selected the contract of Williams on July 25. He made his major league debut a day later. That it was in his hometown of San Diego made it all the more special.

Williams entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and made an immediate impact with a sweeping tag on the back foot of Ha-Seong Kim to catch him in an attempt to steal second base.

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Then, in the ninth inning, Williams drew an 11-pitch walk against Josh Hader by fouling off four pitches after two strikes.

“I had that little extra focus going,” Williams said. “I was staying on his heater because I know that’s kind of his pitch, that low release, rising heater. I was just trying to stay on that as best I could.”

Shelton was impressed by Williams’ composure.

“His heart’s gotta be pumping,” Shelton said. “Not only because it’s his first major-league at-bat and we’re talking about an All-Star closer, but he’s at home. This is where he grew up.”

Making his debut at Petco Park, where family and friends could see him play, meant the world to Williams.

“It was nerve-wracking, just the adrenaline, all the emotions going through my body. It was insane,” Williams said. “This is the field we grew up seeing big leaguers play at. It means the world to have so many family and friends. After the game I saw them, and they were screaming, hooting and hollering.”

Williams recorded his first major league hit in his fourth game, with a two-out, RBI single to center to score Endy Rodriguez for a three-run lead in the fifth inning of a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on July 29.

Williams went 2 for 3 with a double against Detroit on Aug. 1, the start of a five-game hit streak that saw him go 7 for 15 (.467) with two doubles and three walks.

Williams, however, followed that by going 0 for 15 with seven strikeouts and no walks over the next six games. His batting average soon plummeted below the Mendoza Line before he went on another hot spell, batting .357 (5 for 14) with two doubles and two RBIs in a five-game stretch from Aug. 16-22.

“There’s a little bit of an adjustment period, just with stadiums and new pitching and stuff,” Williams said. “There’s a lot to work and improve on, but I’m playing as hard as I can trying to help the team win. That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day.”

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What helped Williams was his defense. He turned 18 double plays and made only four errors in 108 chances over 301 2/3 innings at shortstop, providing some stability at a position that had very little.

“There’s guys that play shortstop, and there’s guys that are shortstops. He’s a shortstop,” Shelton said. “I think when you go around the game and you look at guys that you want the ball hit to, that’s a guy you send out there and that’s the way Alika is.”

Ultimately, Williams’ glove couldn’t offset the difference of his bat. He was hitting .198 when the Pirates optioned Williams to Indianapolis on Sept. 26, bringing Nick Gonzales back to the majors.

The future: If Williams has an advantage over other Pirates middle infielders, it’s that he’s a natural shortstop who’s better on defense.

That gives him a slight edge over Ji Hwan Bae, Gonzales, Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo, but all have better bats.

Whether Williams can win a backup job behind Oneil Cruz might depend on his positional versatility. Williams played 37 games at second base in the minors, so it’s possible he could play on either side of the bag.

But Williams will have to reduce a 31.3% strikeout rate and put up the kind of offensive numbers he did at Indianapolis if he wants to make the Opening Day roster.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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