The Pirates released 39 minor league players this week, as first reported by John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. Outfielder Charlie Tilson, utilityman Jake Elmore, right-hander Luis Escobar and infielder Sherman Johnson stand out as players with prior big league experience.
Tilson, 27, joined the Bucs on a minor league deal this winter after spending the past four seasons in the White Sox organization. Acquired by Chicago in the 2016 swap that sent lefty Zach Duke to the Cardinals, Tilson made his MLB debut shortly after that trade. However, a torn hamstring suffered in his debut game required surgery, and he’s been plagued by a series of leg and ankle injuries ever since. In 280 Major League plate appearances, the former second-round pick carries just a .246/.310/.290 batting line. Tilson was known for his speed early in his career, but the 46 stolen bases he recorded in 134 games back in 2015 dwarf the eight bags he swiped in a combined 115 games between Triple-A and the Majors last year.
The 32-year-old Elmore has the most MLB experience of the group, having appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.
Escobar, 24, made his big league debut last year and received 60 grades on his fastball while coming up through the minors. He averaged 95.1 mph on that heater in his 5 2/3-inning cup of coffee last year, although he also walked four batters, hit another and threw a wild pitch in that short time. Escobar’s 2019 results in Triple-A were solid, particularly considering how hitter-friendly that league was last year: 4.09 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 46.6 percent grounder rate. That said, it’s not exactly a huge surprise that he was cut loose; Escobar did go unclaimed on waivers back in November.
As for the 29-year-old Johnson, he’s an eight-year minor league veteran who received the briefest of looks with the Angels back in 2018, appearing in 10 games but going hitless in 11 plate appearances. He has at least 450 innings at all four infield positions and, while he’s never shown much power, has been a consistent on-base threat with fairly low strikeout rates in his minor league career.
Escobar’s injury must have been pretty bad
He suffers from intense malaise
Lol
don’t forget the general ennui
Malaise or Miracle Whip?
From suzy?
Charlie Tilson! Now Reinsdorf can resign him again – convert him to 2B. When Madrigal turns into Ronald Torreyes, he can be ready.
You must miss the unholy triumvirate of Sox trolls. Are you trying to awaken them?
Lol.
So the pirates really aren’t gong to continue to pay for all their minor leaguers, just the 10 they decide to keep
You must not follow baseball very often to believe that. With the draft going on, these cuts happen all the time. It’s just more noticeable because of the current state of baseball. I disagree with the Pirates being cheap like any other fan, but this was a business move for the organization that happens every year.
@ Shannon Wolf I agree in general with your comment with some subtle alterations. I think that many of the players cut in the latest round were different than typical cuts made around the draft. I believe these cuts were directly related to the likely cancellation of the minor league season. Players like Elmore and Tilson were likely in place to make minor league teams stronger and provide leadership during the season to younger prospects. With no season, they were likely seen as expendable. It is understandable they made a business decision to cut expenses they felt were unnecessary. However if other teams do not follow suit and retain and pay players that are similar, this could impact how players view the Pirates org. If a minor leaguer has an equal offer between the Pirates and the Padres (who do not appear to be making cost cutting cuts in minors), do the players choose Padres going forward? That is a potential risk.
@DaveP these guys would have been cut if they didn’t make the MLB roster by this time. It happens every year and this year is no different. All players that got cut, had a very slim chance of making the team to begin with. Elmore was possibly the only legit player who could have came in if Jason Martin wasn’t healthy AND a regular was hurt as well. He may not have seen very main ABs anyways. Maybe a late inning replacement if he was lucky enough to get playing time. The other 3 players are far worse than Elmore and would have been cut regardless of team. From a business standpoint, these moves made sense. It also gives the Pirates to spend cheap (and they love that) on undrafted prospects whom would have been drafted in the later rounds. The undrafted free agency is going to be stacked and the Pirates can be winners in this with their buy low philosophy.