The Pirates' Nick Yorke plays first base against the Dodgers on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at PNC Park.
After Nick Yorke made his major league debut last September, he swore to himself that he would never play another inning in the minors. Then Yorke was among the final cuts of spring training.
That it took until Monday, when MLB active rosters expanded to 28 players, to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates was tough for Yorke to swallow. Yorke learned that he had only himself to blame.
"It was definitely frustrating," Yorke told TribLive. "My goal when I got called up last year was to never play minor league baseball again. So going back to that was obviously a bit of a disappointment. At the end of the day, it's no one's fault but your own. If you're performing well and doing everything you can to be here and help, if they think you can help the team, they're going to call you up. I just had to get back to playing my game of baseball."
An awful April only made it worse. Yorke batted .212 and had twice as many strikeouts (23) as walks (11), finding himself pressing at the plate to force the issue. Instead, it hurt his chances.
Where Yorke bounced back in May with a .322/.366/.425 slash line, his batting average slipped to .279 in June and .246 in July. He turned to his family for support -- his brothers Joe and Zach both played college baseball -- and his Indianapolis teammates to share their advice. Most notably, he leaned on veterans with major league experience like Nick Solak, Brett Sullivan and Alika Williams.
"I felt like consistently throughout the year that I would have two good weeks, then a bad one. I'd take two really good steps forward, then take a step back," Yorke said. "Recently, I've been taking gradual steps forward and being more consistent. I'm not one to issue blame on anyone but myself. I think if I'd performed better off the rip, I'd have been here. I just didn't."
A red-hot August helped his cause. The 23-year-old infielder batted .337/.382/.446 with eight doubles, one home run and 15 RBIs. The Pirates had a need for a right-handed bat at first base and the corner outfield spots. Although Yorke spent most of the season at second base, he has shown the ability and willingness to play multiple positions.
"Nick has played extremely well. August, absolutely killed it," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. "I think he kept working. I think that early on, the swing wasn't on and as a player looking back at my career, I can't speak for him, but when things don't get off to such a good start, you kind of fall into that trap and trying to figure it out. He continued to work and came out of it."
Where Yorke was a middle infielder who had to borrow his brother's first base mitt in the spring, he now feels comfortable at first. He started there Tuesday, going 1 for 2 with a single off Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw in the first inning of the 9-7 win. He flied out to center in his second at-bat, then was replaced by lefty-hitting Spencer Horwitz when the Dodgers turned to their bullpen in the sixth.
Kelly, who worked with Yorke on adjusting to the new position in spring training, said Yorke did well at first base in pregame infield work and noted that infield coach Chris Truby was impressed with Yorke's footwork and ability to pick throws.
"I thought he did well," Kelly said. "Moving around the bag ... it's hard to find ways when you're used to always going after the ball when you go to first base and the ball's hit to your right but you've got to go left. He's moving around really well."
Yorke knows that his bat is his carrying tool, so he's looking to show some consistency at the plate for the Pirates this month. After batting .216 (8 for 37) with two home runs and five RBIs in 11 games last September, Yorke is hoping to prove that his bat plays in the major leagues and he has staying power this time.
"It's tough to predict what's going to happen, but I firmly believe I can produce at the big league level," Yorke said, "and I will continue to work as hard as I can to hopefully be that solution."