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Pirates To Sign Wilmer Difo

By Anthony Franco | January 15, 2021 at 11:59am CDT

The Pirates are in agreement on a deal with infielder Wilmer Difo, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). The contract is pending a physical. It is a minor league deal, worth $1MM with incentives should Difo make the Major League roster, adds Murray.

Difo had spent the past decade-plus in the Nationals’ system, with Washington originally adding him as an international amateur. He has picked up big league playing time in each of the past six years, with the bulk of that work coming from 2017-18. All told, Difo has a .247/.309/.348 career slash line across 1,060 MLB plate appearances. He’s made contact at an above-average rate and drawn a decent number of walks, but Difo has well below-average exit velocities and has never been much of a power threat.

The bigger appeal is what Difo brings to the table defensively. The 28-year-old has plenty of middle infield experience, as well as some time at third base and a few innings in the outfield. Advanced metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved have generally pegged Difo as a slightly above-average defender up the middle. Difo has three-plus years of MLB service time, so he’d be controllable through 2023 via arbitration if he emerges as a long-term piece in Pittsburgh.

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Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Wilmer Difo

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21
Main
Season Notes: Pandemic, Rules, Rays, Attendance
33 comments
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Comments

  1. bucketbrew35

    2 months ago

    Big moves!

    1 Like
    Reply
  2. Rsox

    2 months ago

    He does bring a World Series ring so at least there’s that i guess…

    1 Like
    Reply
  3. Hosmer for HOF

    2 months ago

    Same Pirates, Difo-rent look

    5 Like
    Reply
    • leefieux

      2 months ago

      Lol

      Like
      Reply
  4. cheeryvladdy

    2 months ago

    The fallout of the DJLM signing.

    Like
    Reply
  5. DarkSide830

    2 months ago

    2020 – J.T. Riddle
    2021 – Wilmer Difo
    2022 – Johan Camargo? Luis Gullorme?

    Like
    Reply
    • billbucs

      2 months ago

      Yeah. Go away.

      Like
      Reply
  6. Blank Frank

    2 months ago

    I thought Difo was very good in The Last Temptation of Christ.

    2 Like
    Reply
    • Armaments216

      2 months ago

      Pirates were looking for a Platoon player

      2 Like
      Reply
      • LumberJerk9Billion

        2 months ago

        And some Speed 2

        Like
        Reply
  7. BuccosFan

    2 months ago

    This one doesn’t make much sense to me, unless they are trading Frazier. Just seems redundant since I imagine they want to give Gonzalez, Newman, and Tucker all a chance up the middle this year.

    Like
    Reply
    • KermitJagger

      2 months ago

      I think they are trading Frazier, either now or at the deadline.

      Like
      Reply
    • Jim Thome is my homie

      2 months ago

      I don’t uderstand how Frazier and Gonzalez both got close salaries for next season. Frazier is a lot better than 70k above Erik Gonzalez IMO.

      Like
      Reply
    • billbucs

      2 months ago

      They have an interesting mix in the middle but it is pretty good though

      Like
      Reply
  8. Scott Kliesen

    2 months ago

    Is this signing designed to prevent Cole Tucker from playing CF, SS, or all the above?

    Like
    Reply
    • mlb1225

      2 months ago

      More like push Adam Frazier out so Tucker can play SS.

      Like
      Reply
    • billbucs

      2 months ago

      I still think Tucker at short, Newman at 2nd and Frazier traded. Not sure where Gonzalez fits except utility.

      Like
      Reply
  9. mlb1225

    2 months ago

    HA! In your face Yankees, we got the real prize today.

    1 Like
    Reply
    • gozurman1

      2 months ago

      Yet another player spurning Toronto…..

      Like
      Reply
  10. TJECK109

    2 months ago

    Frazier on the move?

    Like
    Reply
  11. alwaysgo4two

    2 months ago

    Big breakout candidate….I can feel it. The Bucs once had Bautista, ya know.

    To all those who thought that I was serious…shame on you.

    Like
    Reply
  12. panj341

    2 months ago

    We sorely needed another light hitting infielder?

    2 Like
    Reply
  13. Mick10

    2 months ago

    Perfect signing for the poor pitiful pirates.

    1 Like
    Reply
  14. Mrtwotone

    2 months ago

    Whip it good!

    Like
    Reply
  15. Shannon Wolfe

    2 months ago

    Dumpster diving by yours truly, Pirates Organization. Their motto is, “We piece it with trash, you get our gems!”

    Nutting should just sell the team! Come on MLB and do something by enforcing Nutting to sell the team! Do Pittsburgh and us fans of baseball a favor!

    IMO, I wonder if all of baseball fans would boycott the league until Pirates are sold when we can go to the stadiums again…

    Like
    Reply
  16. grifftrain

    2 months ago

    Pirates are not getting a great player with Difo, but he can become a fan favorite and well liked teammate.

    Like
    Reply
  17. Cgoss

    2 months ago

    Really not a bad signing. They need depth if Frazier fans out and Tucker has to play CF.

    Like
    Reply
  18. baseballpun

    2 months ago

    Too bad he couldn’t get a major league offer.

    Like
    Reply
  19. parts unknown

    2 months ago

    Bob Nutting : “Hey ben, I was watching Spiderman and I sure liked Willem Dafoe. Can we get him to throw out a first pitch?”

    “no but I can get Wilmer Difo”

    Like
    Reply
  20. kevins-7

    2 months ago

    The ONLY thing the Pirates had going for them was their plethora of talent in the middle infield pipeline. So what do they do? They block them all from getting to the bigs with this average fielding-below average batting journeyman! Even if they trade Frazier, which I’m sure is coming, WHY wouldn’t you just let the kids battle for this spot?!
    The next Pirates owner will immediately be as beloved as the Rooney’s and Mario in PIT.

    Like
    Reply
    • billbucs

      2 months ago

      It’s a good move to add flexibility for whatever comes next.

      Like
      Reply
  21. frustratedpittsburghpiratesfan

    2 months ago

    Start printing the playoff tickets after this signing. Who thinks the next move will be that they will trade this guy for cash??? Does anyone outside Pittsburgh observe the way the Pittsburgh Pirates ownership conducts business. The Pirates Fan deserve better!!!

    Like
    Reply
  22. BudgetBall

    3 weeks ago

    If Frazier is traded, Difo will be competing with González for the Backup MI job, as Newman and Tucker would likely be the 2B and SS in 2021. Although, Gonzalez could also be competing with Evans for the Backup CI job. After all, how many UT infielders can a team keep. With Polanco as the Bucs starting RF, they would be better off having a 5th OF as he may not hold up very long. I’m thinking Polanco, Reynolds, Goodwin, and either Alford or Oliva, plus one more OF signing before the regular season, unless Stokes wins the job.

    Like
    Reply

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