Pirates A to Z: After sophomore slump, Kevin Newman focused on rediscovering swing

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Trevor Williams.

Kevin Newman

Position: Shortstop/second baseman

Bats/Throws: Right/right

Age: 27

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 200 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: Batted .224/.281/.276 with five doubles, one home run, 10 RBIs in 44 games.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Drafted by the Pirates in the first round in 2015.

This past season: Newman followed a stellar rookie season in the worst imaginable way, losing his leadoff spot in the batting order, confidence in his swing and his starting job at shortstop.

Then came the worst part: He was hit on the outside of his left knee by a Genesis Cabrera 97 mph fastball in a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 20.

“I can’t even imagine,” Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “The sound that it made, I thought for sure something was broken.”

It was only a contusion, but it forced Newman to finish the season on the injured list. And so ended a disappointing campaign that saw his slash line slip from .308/.353/.446 in 2019 to .224/.281/.276 while committing eight errors in 44 games.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton was quick to point out Newman was hardly alone in having a sophomore slump, as outfielder Bryan Reynolds also scuffled at the plate.

“We’re seeing it with a couple of our guys that had successful rookie seasons. There’s adjustments made, and now we have to adjust back,” Shelton said. “We’ve seen that a little bit with Newman, who’s done that a little bit, and with Reynolds. We will spend the offseason trying to identify not only in conversations with Kevin of what he feels he needs to do better but looking into it a little bit deeper, how we can make adjustments.”

Newman had no explanation for his offensive woes, as he struggled from the start. After batting leadoff for only the first two games, Newman dropped to No. 2 in the order. But he batted .167 with a .461 OPS through the first nine games, before hitting a walk-off single in a 6-5 win over the Twins to snap a seven-game losing streak Aug. 6.

The Pirates (+180 ML) walk it off the Kevin Newman two run single to beat the Twins 6-5 @betthebases pic.twitter.com/MoZnZUxsDP

— Barstool Sportsbook (@BSSportsbook) August 6, 2020

Newman’s sixth career walk-off single in a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 8 came by error, when catcher Yasmani Grandal dropped the relay throw from the pitcher on a dribbler.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” Newman said. “There were weeks when I felt good and I was hitting the ball well, but not finding a lot of grass, but that’s part of the game. There were weeks when I was lost — I couldn’t repeat my swing —and that’s part of baseball.”

Newman wasn’t any better in the field. He had five errors in 23 games at short before being supplanted by Erik Gonzalez. Newman played 20 games at second base but had three errors there.

“I can’t pinpoint one thing, honestly,” Newman said. “We got our work in as best we could. (There were) a lot of limitations, with everything that’s going on this year, but it’s no excuse. I just didn’t make as many plays as I would have liked. So just another thing going in the offseason to really key in on, really work hard and come back better at.”

The future: Newman’s frustration was apparent, and he did little to hide his disgust with his performance though he did say that it would motivate him to make adjustments in the offseason.

“No, I don’t think I’ve performed nearly to how I’m capable of,” Newman said. “I’m not happy with how I played, by any means. I’m going to use that as fuel going into the offseason.”

Instead of being the shortstop of the future, the 2015 first-round pick now has to face competition there with the likes of Gonzalez, Cole Tucker and rising prospect Oneil Cruz. Second base won’t be any easier, with Adam Frazier a Gold Glove finalist for the second consecutive year and 2020 first-rounder Nick Gonzales waiting in the wings.

Newman headed into the offseason with the hopes of rediscovering his swing — and recapturing the swagger he had as a rookie.

“I’m super competitive,” Newman said. “I am probably a little harder on myself than I should be, so I definitely don’t see this as the player that I am. But I want to be better, and I’m going to use this season as fuel to come back in the offseason, work as hard as I can and come back and be the player that I know I can be. I know that this year wasn’t a reflection of who I am as a major-league baseball player.”