By Brian Kopycinski
Third base has been a much talked about position on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster in recent years. Ke’Bryan Hayes, while providing stellar defense, never lived up to the hype that he showed in his cup of coffee in 2020. Fans expect more from this team, and most are not looking forward to an entire year of Jared Triolo, who is best suited for a super utility role, at the hot corner. There have been rumblings about Munetaka Murakami that haven’t panned out, and Eugenio Suárez that remain to be seen. While the future at the position remains unresolved, let’s reflect on the kind of player the Bucs could use in their lineup again, a natural leader and winner like David Freese.
While not exactly an underrated player given his postseason heroics, Freese has definitely gone under the radar when discussions of the best third baseman of the 2010s come up. Overshadowed by Nolan Arenado, Freese, a fine fielder himself, never won any Gold Gloves, and he wasn’t exactly a power hitter like Hall of Famer Adrian Beltré. Still, looking back at his career, Freese was no slouch. The height of his excellence came on the biggest stage in the 2011 World Series. His clutch hitting in Game 6 of the Fall Classic, capped off by a walk-off home run, forced a Game 7 that St. Louis won for their eleventh Commissioner’s Trophy.
Named World Series MVP, Freese was an All-Star for the Cardinals in 2012. In Game 1 of the NLCS, he helped chase the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner with his two-run bomb in the second inning. The South Alabama product spent another year in St. Louis, then two with the Angels before he came to Pittsburgh. The Angels made the playoffs in 2014, winning the AL West, but were swept in the Division Series by the Royals. Freese struggled, hitting just .125. While he was a productive player in the regular season for the Halos, this poor postseason showing was out of character for him. Freese signed with the Pirates on the heels of the Bucs’ 98-win season in 2015, coming off their third straight trip to the playoffs under manager Clint Hurdle.
Freese was expected to split time at third base with Jung-ho Kang. He would also platoon at first with John Jaso. It had been a quiet offseason for Pittsburgh, with the signing of Freese being its biggest move. A reunion with Ryan Vogelsong, a two-time World Series champion, was another notable signing. Simply put, the team regressed in ‘16. McCutchen had a down year, Cole took a step back. Trading for Ivan Nova was nice, but clearly not enough. Freese maintained his consistent level of play. While his counting stats weren’t remarkable, that’s not all that matters when evaluating a player. Freese had been there and done that. They needed someone like him in that clubhouse if they were going to go anywhere.
Sadly, this never came to be. 2017 was more of the same for the Pirates. Kang was out for the entire season, for reasons we don’t need to get into. As a result, Freese took over third full time and continued to deliver that steady play. The team generally underperformed and continued to fall behind the Cubs and the Brewers for relevance in the NL Central. Things would get worse in 2018. While they had a winning season, Cutch and Cole were gone; the team lacked a clear identity, and the future remained uncertain, more so than usual.
Freese, now in his mid-30s, was outspoken about the Pirates’ lack of competitiveness going into the season. This would be unheard of from any of the regulars nowadays, always toting the line. Freese, hitting .282 with 9 HRs and 42 RBIs in 94 games, was traded to the Dodgers at the deadline for Jesus Valdez, who as of 2025 is still fighting it out in Triple-A for the Diamondbacks’ top farm club. The Dodgers, on pace to win their division once again, clearly valued the veteran Freese and what he brought to the table. He did not disappoint.
For 19 regular season games, Freese hit a blistering .385 in 47 plate appearances. In Game 4 of the NLDS, he came off the bench in the sixth and came through with a two-run single off the Braves’ Brad Brach, that helped send the Dodgers to the Championship Series. While the Dodgers lost to the Red Sox in the World Series, this wasn’t the end for Freese. He returned to LA for the 2019 season, primarily as a first baseman and pinch hitter. For his age 36 season, Freese put up 1.5 bWAR in 79 games for the Dodgers, batting .315 with 11 homers.
His last hurrah came in the NLDS versus the Nationals, where he started a two-out rally in the sixth inning of Game 3, his hit off Patrick Corbin keeping the inning alive. The Dodgers went on to score seven runs and won the game but lost the series to the eventual champions. To the end, Freese had the clutch gene. His postseason batting record is quite impressive. While by no means Reggie Jackson, Freese held his own in tense moments, batting .299/.370/.549 in the playoffs over 14 series. Nearly half of his hits went for extra bases.
Freese has much to be proud of for his career and has the hardware to show for it. We appreciate all that he did in Pittsburgh, and what he had to say about the direction of the team. While it’s disappointing we never got to see what David Freese could do in Buctober, we should have no doubt that he had the will to win.