Around the Curve | Pichardo Makes Strong First Impression With Pirates

Being traded is an uprooting experience for any player. At first, the thought of “Why does the team who believed in me and signed me want to get rid of me?” naturally crosses the mind at some point. But as Curve infielder Kervin Picahrdo was told on the way out the door from the San Diego Padres to the Pittsburgh Pirates this March by Fort Wayne TinCaps Broadcaster John Nolan, that being traded means that your wanted in this game. And that’s a good thing.

For Kervin Pichardo, born in the Bronx, NY and then moved to the Dominican Republic in his teens, a change of scenery is nothing new. After signing with the Phillies in June of 2019, Pichardo began his career in the Dominican Summer League and climbed their minor league system in his first three seasons. In 2022, he was getting set to head out to Jersey Shore, the Phillies High-A affiliate, when a call came. He’d been traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for RHP James Norwood. Pichardo bounced between High-A Fort Wayne, Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso in the Padres minor league system in 2022 and showed his value with a consistent approach at the plate, a strong arm in the field and an overall positive demeanor that earned him a reputation as one of the organization’s most popular players.

To start the 2023 campaign, Pichardo found himself back in High-A Fort Wayne playing behind a loaded TinCaps roster highlighted by SS Jackson Merrill. After hitting just .179 in 36 games with the TinCaps and just .205 in 15 games at Double-A through July 20^th Pichardo emerged from the All-Star break with more opportunities. The San Diego Padres had held internal conversations about Pichardo and thought maybe he could put his strong arm to use on the mound. But, with Jackson Merrill’s promotion to Double-A San Antonio on July 21, the Padres needed Pichardo to play shortstop and second base on an everyday basis at High-A. And from there, Pichardo’s bat took off, batting .362 with five doubles, six homers and 21 runs batted in in 34 games to finish the season. Pichardo, at just 21 years old, had shown he could hold his own at the plate on an everyday basis after a pair of uneven seasons in the Padres system.

As the calendar turned to the 2024 campaign, Pichardo readied himself to start on Opening Day with Fort Wayne when the phone rang again. This time, he had been traded to the Pirates; in exchange for LHP Jackson Wolf who had pitched for Altoona in 2023. Pichardo left media day at Fort Wayne and traveled to Altoona where he met 27 new teammates and saw a familiar face; Curve Manager Robby Hammock.

“He was our third base coach in Triple-A, in 2022, and while we didn’t have a very close relationship there was such a respect there,” Pichardo shared with Curve broadcaster Preston Shoemaker prior to a home game against the Akron RubberDucks in late-June.

Slotted into the Curve’s Opening Day lineup at second base in Akron, Pichardo began his Curve career 0-for-15 at the plate until he stepped to the plate in the team’s home opener on Tuesday, April 8 against Harrisburg. With the game tied at seven in the tenth, Pichardo stepped into the box with two outs and smacked a single into left field to score Francisco Acuna from third and send the Curve to an 8-7 win on Opening Day.

“It felt great, to come through with the win that day,” Pichardo said with a big smile.

And while Pichardo has had a bit of an up-and-down campaign at the plate, batting .202 in May, he’s certainly found his stride as the weather heated up in June. Pichardo batted .314/.344/.407 with two doubles, two homes and ten runs batted in, and that included a season-long 12-game hit streak.

*This story was printed in Volume 25 Issue 8 of the Curve Chronicle for the July 9-14 homestand.*