The Pirates recently moved right-hander Roansy Contreras to the bullpen, but he’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of his teammate Mitch Keller and return to the rotation stronger than ever. “I want to find a point where I feel comfortable again,” Contreras said, with major league coach Stephen Morales translating to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I’m going to do my best out of the bullpen, but I feel like I belong in the starting rotation. I’m going to do my best to get back to it.”
Keller was a second-round pick and top 100 prospect but struggled in his first few seasons in the majors, having a 6.02 ERA by the end of 2021. Last year, he had a 6.61 ERA in the middle of May when he was moved to the bullpen. He made just a couple of relief appearances before being put back in the rotation and eventually posted a 3.22 ERA as a starter the rest of the way. He now has a 3.41 ERA for the Bucs here in 2023.
Contreras was also a top 100 guy on his way up through the minors and seemed to solidify himself last year when he posted a 3.79 ERA over 95 innings. However, he’s taken a step back here in 2023 with a 6.55 ERA in 11 starts and a couple of relief appearances. There’s probably a bit of bad luck in there, considering his .328 batting average on balls in play and 61.3% strand rate, but his 17.2% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate are both worse than last year’s marks of 21.1% and 9.6%.
The Pirates are barely above .500 at 34-32 but that’s enough for first place in the National League Central at the moment. Their current rotation consists of Keller, Rich Hill, Luis Ortiz, Johan Oviedo and the recently-recalled Osvaldo Bido. If Contreras could turn things around, it would be a huge help for their postseason push, especially with other options like Vince Velasquez, Mike Burrows and JT Brubaker out for the year. There would also be long-term benefits to the Bucs, since Contreras isn’t slated for free agency until after the 2028 season.
Some other notes from the Central divisions…
- Cardinals left-hander Packy Naughton has been on the injured list for most of the season, making just four appearances in early April before a left forearm strain put him on the shelf. He recently began a rehab assignment but was still experiencing pain. Now he’s traveling to Texas to get a second opinion and it seems season-ending surgery is on the table, per John Denton of MLB.com. Denton relays that Tommy John surgery could still be avoided but it’s nonetheless an ominous development for Naughton and the Cards that it’s being considered, particularly at this time of year. Given the typical recovery period of 14 to 18 months, Tommy John surgery would not only wipe out the rest of 2023 for Naughton but also put his 2024 in jeopardy. In 59 2/3 career innings, he has a 4.98 ERA.
- The Twins reinstated Byron Buxton from the injured list today, optioning outfielder Trevor Larnach in a corresponding move. Buxton has long been one of the most talented athletes in the sport but has struggled to stay healthy. He managed to play 140 games in 2017 but hasn’t topped 92 contests in any subsequent season. The Twins have kept him exclusively in the designated hitter slot this year in an attempt to reduce the chance of injury. That plan hit a snag a couple weeks ago when Buxton took a pitch from Tanner Bibee in the ribs. He landed on the IL due to a contusion but is now back after a brief absence. He’s hitting .220/.325/.445 so far this year for a 114 wRC+, stealing six bases in 50 games.
I’m sorry, I just woke up from my coma…what are the Pirates doing??? Stargell? Clemente? Mazeroski?
Curly, the Pirates have traded places with the Cardinals this year. It’s kinda like the movie, but hopefully STL isn’t Dan Aykroyd beyond this season.
> Stargell? Clemente? Mazeroski?
Dead, Dead, Alive-retired
in the order you listed
Just like baseball today…
Dead, dead almost dead
Funny, hemlock is a deadly poison
Could be worse, they could be the Mets
Cool you have been in a coma longer than the longest coma in history. By like 30 years. Your famous.
Rip Van Winkle, really? You missed that?
First place by a game..
A game is a game
Can you please go back into your coma? Do it for the children.
Contreras: I belong in the starting rotation.
Me: don’t think you will be a SP when you put a game out of reach by giving up 5 runs in an inning nearly every game you pitch in.
especially in his previous appearance he gave up 7 runs in 1/3 of an inning against the A’s
Man, I don’t know what happened to Contreras from 2022 to this year, but his fastball has lost all life. He’s lost velocity, spin, active spin, and is now getting demolished. His slider still looks outstanding though, hold batters to just a .212 AVG and .256 wOBA, but man, his fastball has no spark right now.
Contrares needs to go back to Indy to straighten out his pitching
He’s become an albatross for this staff and team
I agree. I still believe that Contreras can be a productive MLB starter, however. He’s still only 23, and even though his fastball has been crushed and has lost some life, it still had above average spin and speed. Hopefully he can take a page out of Keller’s boom. Maybe a sinker/two-seamer could do him some good.
Still complaining about the pirates. They could be in first place by 10 games. And he would still complain
Holderman was placed on the IL with wrist inflammation and De Santos has been promoted to take his place
Of course I don’t have any evidence but I do believe Shelton misuses the pitching staff and at times overuses it too
If Buxton can’t play his normal Center Field position, then he is still injured and belongs on the IL until such time that he recovers. After all, he is only hitting .220. And with leg and knee issues, what in the BLEEP is he doing stealing bases?? Since he is currently gumming up the team’s use of the DH position, and isn’t hitting much anyway, put him on the 60 Day DL. Let him heal and give some of the kids on the 40 man roster an opportunity to show what they can do.
His .220 BA is far and away the least important of the three numbers listed. His .325 OBP and .445 SLG combined to make him an above-average hitter.
They have him at dh to keep him healthy, not because he’s hurt. They’ve done it all year. Also, whoever they’d replace him with at dh would be much worse.
wait….the Twins optioned Larnach again….but kept Kepler….the entire front office needs to go.
Yeah, that seems weird. As for Buxton, I’m not holding any hope that he’ll remain healthy. He seems fragile. Too bad. When he’s healthy he’s one of my favorite players. He even has a Prince-like strut.
Teams adjust to pitchers all the time, it’s up to them to re-adjust themselves and their stuff. So now we find out if Contreras is really ready for prime time.