Jared Triolo has Gold Glove at 3rd base, but his path to Pirates might be at another position

Jared Triolo was hitless in his first 19 at-bats of spring training when he finally broke out of his funk Tuesday with a fly ball that was misplayed by Baltimore Orioles right fielder Dylan Beavers.

After the eighth-inning double, Triolo came to bat in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, two outs and a chance to tie the game or even deliver a walk-off win. Instead, he grounded out to third for the final out.

That Triolo, 25, was one of five players optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis following the Grapefruit League game had nothing to do with the result. If his bat didn’t get him to the majors this spring, there’s confidence from the club that Triolo’s glove — make that gloves — eventually will.

Late last month, Pirates manager Derek Shelton mentioned Triolo, the 2021 minor league Gold Glove winner at third base and the farm system’s two-time winner as Bill Mazeroski defender of the year, atop the candidates of potential backups for Ke’Bryan Hayes.

“Triolo’s likely going to start the year in Indy,” Shelton said, “but if something happened, he can go over there because he’s really, really good.”

With his path to the majors blocked by baseball’s 2022 leader in defensive runs saved, Triolo learned to display the value of his versatility by picking up other positions last season. The 2019 second-round pick out of the University of Houston was added to the 40-man roster last fall as protection from the Rule 5 Draft.

Shelton wants his infielders to be multi-positional to provide versatility to the lineup, and Triolo certainly fits the bill. He started 87 games at third base for Double-A Altoona last season, 19 games at shortstop and seven in center field. This spring, he took some reads in the outfield, played two games at first base and even practiced at second base.

“I’m just kind of bouncing around, trying to prioritize third base and also get work in and learn different positions, as well,” said Triolo, who believes he can play anywhere but pitcher or catcher. “I think if I get the right preparation and have some confidence going out there, for sure.”

The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder carries five gloves in his bag: One for first base, one for third base, one for the outfield and two for the middle infield, trying out a smaller size after using a 12-inch model last season. Triolo has found first base to be a natural fit, not that he wants to rank them from hardest to easiest.

“None of these positions out there are easy, but it’s hard to put it on that scale,” said Triolo, who turned 25 on Feb. 8. “I was really happy with how comfortable I was at first base, so if that’s the way you want to take it I guess you could call it easier to get a hold of. It helps that you have the line at third base and have the line at first base. It made me feel a little bit more comfortable there.

“They all have their different challenges. You try to compare it to what you know. And that’s third base, and it’s super comparable. But second base is double plays and knowing where you need to be for cutoffs. First base is where you need to be for cutoffs and getting to the bag. Shortstop is all of the above.”

Despite the defensive juggling, Triolo’s greatest challenge is to improve his offense. After slashing .282/.376/.419 with 21 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 39 RBIs, as well as 24 stolen bases, in 112 games at Altoona last season, he hit over the entire offseason for the first time. Even though it didn’t translate in his Grapefruit League batting average (1 for 20, .050), Triolo did draw twice as many walks (four) as strikeouts.

“Offensively, there’s so many things you can do better,” Triolo said. “Defensively, it’s just putting in the work. I know what I need to do defensively to be able to play third base. I feel like it would give me a greater chance of success at the other positions, so I’m carrying it to those positions as well.”