7-16-2025 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN on X
The Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Ben Cherington began their assumed busy trade deadline period over the next few weeks on Wednesday, adding infielder Cam Devanney from the Kansas City Royals for utility-man Adam Frazier.
Frazier, 33 returns to the Royals after spending the entirety of the 2024 campaign with Kansas City, where Frazier slashed .202/.282/.294 with 22 RBIs. Frazier’s play has been considerably better than last season in his return to Kansas City, as Frazier departs Pittsburgh with a .255/.318/.336 slash and 21 RBIs.
Meanwhile, the Pirates acquire Devanney, 28, a career minor leaguer who made his professional debut in 2019 after being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 15th round that year. After rising through the Brewers system for a few years, Devanney was dealt to Kansas City ahead of the 2024 campaign as part of a prospect swap.
Primarily a shortstop across the entirety of his minor league career, Devanney was a 2022 MiLB.com Organization All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers before making his way to Kansas City’s system as a non-roster invitee in 2024.
Devanney has spent the past year and a half with the Royals AAA-affiliate, hitting 37 home runs in that span, including 18 just this season. Devanney has been an above-average player at AAA this season, posting a .272/.366/.565 slash and 137 wRC+ in 69 games with Omaha while playing primarily shortstop but also having appearances at second base, third base and left field.
This season has been the best Devanney has seen in his professional career, posting a career high .931 OPS. He has fared well due to his increase in 90.1 mile per hour exit velocity from last year, a nearly two mile per hour jump from his 88.3 clip last year.
His swing and miss is worrisome this season, as Devanney’s whiff rate has considerably increased to 33.6-percent compared to his 25-percent mark from last year. The bat has some pop though when he makes contact, as Devanney has posted 18 or more home runs in three of his past four campaigns.
As where Devanney fits, he has already been optioned to AAA-Indianapolis, where he’ll find his footing in his third big league organization, but with expectations from the Pirates to move on from players like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who is on an expiring contract, Devanney could see big league opportunities once those deals are potentially made.
Devanney enters the Pirates organization hot, slashing .368/.429/.947 in 19 plate appearances and five games in July. He also has a 1.001 OPS in the minor league second half thus far, compared to a .917 OPS in the first half.
This move won’t, and shouldn’t, light up the radar as Frazier was never going to warrant a massive return, but with expiring deals, its always better to get something rather than nothing, and the Pirates got a career minor league player with some pop who should at worst be depth in the infield that could look very different in just a few weeks with more trades on the horizon.
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