(Photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP)

After coming over in the trade that sent Ji Man Choi and Rich Hill to the San Diego Padres, first baseman Alfonso Rivas made a great first impression in Pittsburgh. 

He didn’t have much major league experience in 2023, spending a majority of the year in Triple-A, but after the trade, Rivas was almost immediately called up to the majors to help shore up a very thin first base depth chart. 

He recorded 3 hits in just his second game as a Pirate, and over his first week with Pittsburgh he tallied 7 hits in 21 at bats (a .333 batting average) while also adding 4 RBIs and 2 home runs.

He also looked rather competent at first base, solidifying the defense at that position in the wake of Carlos Santana and his prominent defensive work being shipped off to Milwaukee. 

It was an amazing opening week for Rivas in a Pirates uniform. Since then, however, he has done almost a complete 180. 

His fall from grace can best be likened to when Margot Robbie falls off of the roof of her dreamhouse in the Barbie movie. 

Since August 10, Rivas hasn’t got a single hit in 15 at bats, and perhaps most concerning, his strikeout number has spiked. He has 8 Ks in that same time frame. 

His most recent outing against the Mets was perhaps his biggest struggle yet, striking out in all 3 at bats in the Pirates’ 8-3 loss to New York. 

Wednesday’s game sunk Rivas’ batting average down to .196, which almost mirrors his average during his brief stint with the Padres this season (.200 in 8 games)

His offensive struggles are perhaps a sign that his first week was well above what we should typically expect from Rivas, who had increased his career home run total by 50% in his first week as a Pirate. 

It’s an unfortunate swing for Rivas, who right now is playing for a roster spot in 2024. 

Initially thought of by some as a stopgap after the Pirates had traded Santana just days prior, Rivas now has a chance to prove he can play well enough to keep the job moving forward.

His recent struggles aren’t helping. 

With the first base spot one of the Pittsburgh front office’s biggest question marks going into next season, when they hope to be more competitive, Rivas needs to prove he can be better than a potential free agent the Pirates might look for in 2024.

His first two weeks have been incredibly streaky, but to get a better overview of his work, we need to look back to last season. 

Rivas was a member of the Chicago Cubs in 2022, and spent a majority of the year in the majors. He played 101 games for the Cubs, where he batted a .235 average with 25 RBIs and 3 homers. 

It’s not tremendous work, which was part of the argument that he was a pure stopgap when the Pirates acquired him. 

In Triple-A this season in the Padres system, he batted a .332 with 40 RBIs and 9 homers over 58 games and 208 at bats. 

He’s played rather well in Triple-A, but outside of his first week with the Pirates, that success hasn’t translated to the major leagues. 

It’s far too early to write the guy off completely (we’re comparing one amazing week to one terrible week), but Rivas is gonna need to find some of that magic he had in his swing if he wants to make his case for the future.