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Pirates Claim Eli Villalobos From Marlins

By Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald | April 11, 2023 at 2:41pm CDT

The Pirates announced they’ve claimed reliever Eli Villalobos off waivers from the Marlins and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The righty had been designated for assignment over the weekend. In a corresponding move, Pittsburgh transferred shortstop Oneil Cruz to the 60-day injured list.

Villalobos has yet to make his major league debut. The 6’4″ hurler was added to Miami’s 40-man roster at the start of last offseason to keep another team from selecting him in the Rule 5 draft. It was a strong development for the Long Beach State product, who’d entered the professional ranks as a 14th-round pick in 2019. He earned the roster spot on the heels of a strong 2022 campaign in the upper minors.

Between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville, Villalobos posted a 2.86 ERA over 78 2/3 innings. He’d punched out an excellent 32.7% of batters faced against a serviceable 9.3% walk percentage. He also induced ground balls at a better than average clip at both stops. Once he’d secured the 40-man spot, he looked like a short-term bullpen option in Miami.

The 25-year-old had a disastrous first few days of this season however. Optioned to Jacksonville out of camp, he’s surrendered six runs in three appearances totaling 4 2/3 frames. Villalobos has walked and struck out seven batters apiece. It was an exceedingly small sample but enough to squeeze him off the roster when the Fish needed a spot for long reliever Devin Smeltzer over the weekend.

Pittsburgh was operating with a de facto vacant roster spot. Cruz fractured his ankle on Sunday and underwent surgery that’s likely to sideline him at least into August. That made it a formality he’d wind up on the 60-day IL whenever the Bucs wanted to add someone else. Villalobos becomes the early beneficiary and will head to Indianapolis as bullpen depth. He has a full slate of minor league option years remaining and can shuttle on and off the MLB roster for the foreseeable future if he’s able to get back on track in his new organization.

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Miami Marlins Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Eli Villalobos Oneil Cruz

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Pirates’ JT Brubaker, Mike Burrows Receiving Second Opinions On Elbow Injuries
View Comments (7)
Post a Comment

7 Comments

  1. Ace_

    2 years ago

    Marlins should have kept him.

    Reply
    • TheMan 3

      2 years ago

      The annual Pirate dumpster diving festival has begun

      Reply
  2. joblo

    2 years ago

    Sounds like a solid pickup.

    Reply
    • MarlinsFanBase

      2 years ago

      Yeah, 26-year olds, that haven’t played in MLB yet, sound like solid moves.

      Reply
    • YourDreamGM

      2 years ago

      Amazing pickup. Until a better arm gets dfa and they dfa this guy.

      1
      Reply
  3. Rosstradamus

    2 years ago

    I wish you well, Son of Esmeralda!

    1
    Reply
    • alwaysgo4two

      2 years ago

      Got it. Well done.

      Reply

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