The Rockies announced that they have traded right-hander Rob Scahill to the Pirates in exchange for fellow righty Shane Carle. The Rockies designated Scahill for assignment last week.
Scahill, 27, totaled a 4.80 ERA in 15 innings with the Rockies this season and has pitched to a 4.42 ERA in 57 frames with the Rockies over the past three years. He’s averaged 5.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in the Majors while featuring solid life on his fastball — an average of 94.4 mph.
The Pirates selected Carle in the 10th round (299th overall) of the 2013 draft. At the time, Baseball America wrote (subscription required and recommended) that he’d previously run his heater up to 94 mph with good sink, but that velocity declined in his final college season before being drafted. He throws from a three-quarter arm slot, per BA, with a fringy slurve and changeup. Carle has pitched well in two seasons with the Pirates organization, though he’s also a college arm that has only been tested against Class-A pitching, so the numbers may be a bit deceiving. Still, he’s posted a 3.26 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 187 2/3 innings as a professional.
Seems like a good move for the bucs, the more bullpen depth the better. Carle is probably not very close to majors.
And Huntington’s reconstruction of the Bucs horrific bullpen has begun… These kind of moves may not be flashy but for those of us who had to sit through Jeanmar Gomez or Ernesto Fieri in high leverage situations last year, pretty much any new face is a welcome sight.
Gomez was a season-saver the previous season, and Frieri was a deal the Pirates won on paper with a younger arm. They just didn’t have the luck. Grilli and LAA did. In the end, it’s the most easily replaced roster spot in the game. By a lot. The bullpen will survive. It’s November. Let’s take a step back and relax.
Gomez was a major steal for Huntingdon based on his 2013 season alone, and quite honestly Jeanmar, while he didn’t pitch as well last year, was also the victim of some rotten luck. Frieri was a good idea that had bad results: as bad as he was, Ernesto wasn’t much worse than Grilli was during the first 2 months. And if the past few years have taught us anything, Neal is really good at finding short term bullpen solutions on the scrap heap: Gomez, Vin Mazzaro, Javier Lopez, etc.
Will Scahill occupy a spot on the 40 man roster prior to the rule 5 draft? If so, it seems like lousy timing, especially if Pirates stand to lose a better prospect in the rapidly approaching draft.
This will take the sting off of losing R. Martin ..