All reports indicate that the Pirates plan on meeting Billy McKinney in Texas when the Pirates travel there for a series against the Rangers.

Pirates reporter Noah Hiles posted that McKinney is expected to be with the team and officially added to the 40-man roster before Pittsburgh’s game against the Rangers. As for who is to be removed from the roster to make room for McKinney, that is yet to be known.

McKinney has 311 career big league games to his name, where he slashes .209/.284/.390 with 34 home runs and 86 RBI. He played in 48 games for the New York Yankees last season, his biggest games played total with one team during a season since 2019.

The guy has bounced around a lot; that can either be interpreted as a player who is frequently expendable, or someone that teams are constantly wanting to take a chance on.

This year, that team was the Pirates. McKinney was acquired in a deal with the Yankees for cash considerations back in December. The veteran ballplayer is just about to celebrate his 30th birthday, and has spent the entire year in Triple-A with the Indianapolis Indians.

McKinney had a strong spring training performance, one that made a push for an opening day roster spot. To tell you the truth, I was really hoping he would make it. But he just missed out, and was assigned to the minor leagues.

This season, McKinney is slashing .298/.403/.460 with 5 homers and 18 RBI in 39 games played for Indianapolis.

His slash numbers rank near the top of Indy’s leaders, and he has been on an absolute tear in recent weeks,

Since coming back from injury and a subsequent rehab assignment with High-A Greensboro on July 24th, McKinney is slashing an incredible .385/.478/.615 with 3 homers in 39 at-bats. He’s drawn 7 walks and struck out 8 times.

Though McKinney is expected to be used as an outfielder, McKinney has also slotted in at first base for the Indians on several occasions. While in the outfield, McKinney has covered all three positions. His versatility could be huge for the Pirates.

That also applies to his handedness. McKinney being a lefty adds another option to weigh in constructing the batting order. Bryan De La Cruz, Michael A. Taylor, Ji Hwan Bae, and Connor Joe are all right-handed batters. Bryan Reynolds is a switch hitter.

McKinney is the only true lefty the Pirates would have as an outfielder in that scenario.

McKinney’s contract being selected by the Bucs will be soured on, and in a vacuum, that’s a fair criticism to make. The Pirates organization has Billy Cook and Nick Yorke, two young bats who have been nothing short of outstanding in Indianapolis since arriving there via trade, and instead they are calling up a soon to be 30-year old journeyman.

Even somebody like Henry Davis, who has largely struggled at the major leagues but always can mash the ball in the minor leagues, would probably be a more appropriate move for the team.

Yorke, Cook, and Davis all have futures with the Pittsburgh Pirates. McKinney very likely doesn’t.

This decision makes little to no sense when you consider the young depth that the Pirates have to promote, especially when it’s somebody that is not on the 40-man roster.

But McKinney has been consistent in Indianapolis all year. He is deserving of the chance he is about to get. That can’t be lost in the confusion of this move.

(Featured photo by Kim Klement Neitzel/USA Today Sports)