Gift
Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 9:49 pm
I see Gift Ngoepe is back with Pirates on a minor league deal. Assigned to Altoona, Double A. The suggestion is he's minor league depth.
65677D7B6D080 wrote: I see Gift Ngoepe is back with Pirates on a minor league deal. Assigned to Altoona, Double A. The suggestion is he's minor league depth.
Maybe minor league depth. He just can't hit. not even minor league pitching. He washed out of the Toronto system last year after hitting .168 in AAA and striking out about half the time. With the Blue Jays last year he whiffed in 12 of 18 ABs. The Phillies just released him after he hit .221 at AAA, again striking out half the time. I can't imagine the Pirates see any use for him. But they like to pride themselves on thinking outside the box with signings of Indian, South African, Korean and Lithuanian players. I think they're hoping it will give them an advantage if any players emerge in the countries in the future. So giving Gift a chance to further his pro career can't hurt if a good player ever comes out of South Africa and thinks about signing with the Pirates. But I don't think Gift will ever see the major leagues again.