Pirates A to Z: Elbow injury cost Anthony Alford audition to win starting job in CF

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. (The only MLB player with a surname that starts with Z is Detroit Tigers pitcher Jordan Zimmerman).

Anthony Alford

Position: Outfielder

Bats/throws: Right/right

Age: 26

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 210 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: Slashed .214/.241/.500 with one triple, two homers and seven RBIs in 18 games.

Contract: Doesn’t become eligible for arbitration until 2023.

Acquired: Claimed off waivers Aug. 27, 2020, after being designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays.

This past season: Looking to fill the void in center field after trading Starling Marte to Arizona in January and, later, dealing Jarrod Dyson to the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline, the Pirates gave Alford a second chance to live up to his enormous potential.

Doubling as a college football player — a quarterback at Southern Miss and safety at Ole Miss — while playing minor league baseball, Alford rose through the Blue Jays’ ranks to become their No. 3 prospect and No. 47 overall by Baseball America in 2018.

Blue Jays Anthony Alford steals 2nd, 3rd, and home to make it 2-0 against the Yankees #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/R3zIC4onmX

— Pam Tatroff (@PamTatroff) February 22, 2020

But he got only 75 plate appearances in 46 major league games over parts of four seasons in Toronto, stuck behind a talented outfield of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernandez.

“Honestly, I was hoping that it was a team where I would get some opportunities, instead of going to another team where I would be in a similar situation where their outfield is kind of set,” Alford said. “I’m glad I ended up here.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, assistant GM Steve Sanders and manager Derek Shelton were familiar with Alford from their time in Toronto, and they were as impressed with his attitude as his athleticism. Alford revealed his character in Toronto when he stopped to help the victims upon seeing a car crash, only to find it was teammate Cavan Biggio who was trapped in his truck.

Here is Anthony Alford's account of Cavan Biggio's truck crash and the moments after it on Wednesday, including his view and how it impacted him. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/6hENsElNEV

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 9, 2019

“I think he does have untapped potential,” Shelton said. “I’m excited for him to start working with our offensive group. He’s a really strong kid, really athletic kid. We’re not gonna put any pressure on him. He’s gonna get the opportunity to play and get some at-bats. We’ll formulate a plan and kind of work from there.”

428 feet!

No doubt about this one from Anthony Alford. pic.twitter.com/RRRS7TyTmu

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 3, 2020

The Pirates gave Alford a shot to play both left and center, and he slashed .250/.308/.667 with a triple, home run, four RBIs, one walk and one strikeout in five games before fracturing his right (throwing) elbow while crashing into the center-field wall against the Cincinnati Reds while tracking a Tucker Barnhart home run.

“Honestly, it makes me a little sick to my stomach,” Shelton said afterward. “Knowing the opportunity that he has right now, then even more so knowing the person and the kid. Just to see the pain and anguish in his eyes, it’s difficult. It’s something that we have to move through, but I definitely feel for him.”

Alford’s elbow required surgery, but he is expected to be ready in time for the start of spring training. But the injury came at a cost.

The future: Where Alford was being given the opportunity of a lifetime — a month to audition for a starting job — his absence created a chance for Bryan Reynolds to switch from left to center.

Reynolds prefers to play center and impressed the Pirates with his play there. The Pirates also experimented with shortstop Cole Tucker in the outfield, and he was able to best showcase his speed in center. So that could be a competition worth watching this spring.

If Reynolds moves to center full-time, that could create an opening in left field. Alford said his preference is to play center and right before left and expressed reservations after his first time in left field at PNC Park because he likes to play shallow and go back on balls in flight.

Even though the Pirates have had three Gold Glove winners in left in Starling Marte (twice) and Corey Dickerson, that the park plays 325 feet down the left-field line, 383 feet in left-center and 410 to the North Side Notch can prove challenging to newcomers.

“I look around, and I’m like, ‘Jesus Christ, this is a lot of grass out here,’ ” Alford said. “It’s a lot of ground to cover from center and left field. It’s deep out there in left-center, too. You get beat, those can be triples.”

The Pirates are hoping Alford can live up to his potential and eventually provide the power at the plate and speed on the basepaths that made him such a tantalizing prospect. And Alford believes he can, too.

“I know I can be a great player at this level,” Alford said. “It’s just a matter of getting here and playing on a regular basis and showing it, just believing in myself. I believe I can be great at this level, do the same thing here that I’ve done anywhere else. It’s just a matter of having an opportunity to show it.”