The Pirates announced Tuesday that theyve recalled infielder/outfielder from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned righty to Triple-A in his place. (Noah Wiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Baes looming promotion). Its the third straight season with some MLB time for Bae, but this time around hell be looking to carve out some staying power on the heels of a big start to his season in the International League. Through his first 122 plate appearances of the season, Bae has turned in a ridiculous .367/.479/.551 batting line about 72% better than league-average production, by measure of wRC+. Hes clearly earned himself a look in the majors, though theres ample reason to take those rate stats with a grain of salt. For instance, Bae has been set down on strikes in 28% of his plate appearances so far. Were it not for a comically high .525 average on balls in play, his slash line wouldnt look nearly so strong. Fans should temper their expectations, gaudy Triple-A stats notwithstanding. That said, there are also some encouraging signs. Bae is drawing walks at a mammoth 17.2% clip through his first 27 Triple-A games. Hes popped four homers after only hitting three in 120 games (MLB and Triple-A combined) last season. Hes 7-for-10 in stolen bases as well, showing the speed that helped him swipe 24 bags for the Bucs just last season. At the very least, hes deserving of an opportunity to try to show hes better than 2023s .231/.296/.311 slash in 371 big league plate appearances. Bae has experience at second base and in the outfield, but the latter DeAndre' Bembry Jersey seems a likelier landing spot. The Pirates only recently called up second baseman in another effort to spark a tepid offense, and hes already ripped a couple of homers while posting a solid enough .265/.297/.471 line in 38 turns at the plate. One option for the Bucs would be to displace struggling first baseman , pushing right fielder to first base in place. Tellez has managed only a .181/.250/.233 line in 128 plate appearances since signing a one-year, $3.2MM deal over the winter. Meanwhile, Joe whos played 750 big league innings at first base has mashed at a .280/.350/.476 pace. With six long balls, hes already more than halfway to his 2023 total (11) in just one-third the playing time. at Tellezs significant struggles yesterday, noting that players like Bae and minor league signee (.342/.438/.514 in 137 Triple-A plate appearances) have earned a look with their play thus far. Mackey speculated in an appearance on 93.7 FM The Fan in Pittsburgh this morning that a move involving Tellez could be nigh, though hes since that Tellez is expected to hang onto his roster spot for now and to be in uniform for tonights contest. A sistant general manager Steve Sanders appeared on The Fan this weekend as well, touching on Lambs succe s in Indianapolis and whether the club might be tempted to make a move ( ). Sanders sidestepped, calling Lamb an incredible profe sional on and off the field as well as one of the toughest outs in the minor leagues right now. Sanders praised Lambs leadership and work with young Pirates prospects in Triple-A but wouldnt commit to a promotion in the near future, only stating: It gives us a really good feeling knowing we have a quality bat there. Pittsburgh has received strong offensive output from the aforementioned Joe, from and from catcher , in addition to a handful of roughly league-average batting lines ( , , ). Theyve also seen 2023 breakout slugger struggle tremendously, however, while top catching prospect has already been optioned to Indianapolis in an effort to get back on track at the plate. Opening Day second baseman has hit just .212/.297/.265 and could see his playing time dry up once is ready to return at third base. Triolo has shifted to the hot corner for now to cover for the injured Hayes and in deference to Gonzales. Currently, Pittsburgh is tied with Oakland for the third-fewest runs in the majors (180). Pirates hitters collectively rank 27th in batting average (.226), 26th in on-base percentage (.301) and 28th in slugging percentage (.353). At 24.7%, they have the games sixth-highest strikeout rate, although to their credit, the 9.4% team walk rate is also tied for fifth-highest in MLB. For now, theyll hope that the recent additions of Gonzales and now Bae can be a catalyst for better run production, but more significant changes likely loom on the horizon if the lineup continues to sputter. Malachi Flynn Jersey