Prior to last year’s deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates swung a trade to acquire infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke from the Boston Red Sox.

The deal was a swap of former first-round draft picks, with the Pirates sending 2019 first-rounder Quinn Priester to Boston to complete the deal. Priester has since been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, but Yorke, a 2020 first-rounder, remains with the Pirates and is considered one of the organization’s top position-player prospects.

Yorke’s 2025 season was sidetracked for a bit early on after landing on the injured list with right shoulder soreness.

The 23-year-old played in four games prior to landing on the IL. It was a good start to the season, who went 5 for 15 with three doubles in those four games.

After he returned from the injured list, on Apr. 11, Yorke scuffled. In 15 games after returning, the right-handed hitter slashed just .182/.297/.255 with one double, one home run and a strikeout rate of nearly 30%.

But since the calendar flipped from April to May, it’s been a different story for the Pirates’ sixth-best prospect.

In 27 games since May 1, Yorke is hitting .327 with a .364 on-base percentage and a .436 slug. His .800 OPS translates to a healthy 116 wRC+, and he’s drastically cut down his strikeout rate to a manageable 17.8%.

Yorke made his MLB debut with the Pirates last season on Sep. 16 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He played in 11 games and hit .216 with a .664 OPS, two home runs, five RBI and two stolen bases.

Given the performance of the Pirates’ offense this season, it’s time to give Yorke another shot in the big leagues.

Entering Friday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park, the Pirates rank 24th in on-base percentage (.304) 27th in batting average (.226) and are tied for 29th in OPS (.635). They’re dead last with a .334 slugging percentage while only the Kansas City Royals (39) have hit fewer home runs than the Pirates (43) and the Colorado Rockies (196) are the only team to score fewer runs (199).

The Pirates have been in need of a spark all season, and given how Yorke has played over the last five weeks of the season, they have one ready for a chance to provide one.

Yorke offers enough versatility to where he should be able to get at-bats on a fairly-regular basis. Last season in Pittsburgh, Yorke played second base, third base, left field and right field. This year, he’s spent most of his time at second base but has also played the corner outfield spots.

While the Pirates won’t say it publicly yet, it’s time to start thinking about 2026. They’re buried in last place in the National League Central with a 23-40 record — 16.5 games behind the first-place Cubs.

Will Yorke be the solution to all the Pirates’ problems? Of course not, but he’s someone who could make an impact, both this season and beyond.