The Pirates have signed right-hander Isaac Mattson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com and relayed by the player himself on his Instagram page. He has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis for now but will presumably receive an invite to big league spring training.
Mattson, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Bucs for the 2024 season as well. He was selected to the roster in September and was able to throw 5 1/3 innings over three appearances, allowing three earned runs. He also got into four games with the Orioles in 2021, giving him a 5.59 ERA in seven major league games at this point in his career. He was outrighted off the roster at the start of the offseason.
That’s obviously not much of a sample size to make conclusions from, but the Bucs just got an up-close look at Mattson in Triple-A for most of the 2024 season. He tossed 60 innings over 29 appearances at that level with a 3.15 ERA. His 12.9% walk rate there was on the high side but his 29.8% strikeout rate was quite strong. That’s generally been the case for him at the upper levels of the minors. He has thrown 138 1/3 minor league innings over the past four years with a 4.10 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate and 14.5% walk rate.
There’s no harm in a minor league deal, so the Bucs will bring him back in a non-roster capacity. If he can take a step forward in terms of control, that would obviously improve his utility. If he earns his way back onto the roster, he is still has two option years and has very little service time, meaning he can potentially be cheaply retained in a depth role for quite some time.
Wow! Nice signing.
Finally, some urgency.
He’s an incredibly easy dude to root for! He’s so down to earth
Lost track of him. Was one of 4 pitchers Orioles got in the Dylan Bundy trade with LAA in 2019. Bradish healing, Peek and Brnovich in minors; all 3 still with Baltimore.
Why?
It is a minor league signing for a pitcher who has a high K rate and who they may have seen some level of promise.. Why. not? Doesn’t impact the 40 man or block anybody.
you’re right, it doesn’t affect the 40 man roster
But this team has more important needs than this and I am afraid they will fill those positions from the dumpster
I truly wonder how many people out there see a signing like this and think this is the only call or priority the GM has. You need someone to be like your #15 reliever on the depth chart, better to grab players you’re familiar with who have a little experience early on while the big boys are arguing with Boras about salaries equivalent to the economies of small countries.
Would you rather go hunting for someone during the season? That’s how you end up with Ben Heller.
It’s clockwork. Every year. I’m surprised we haven’t seen the ask for the 20m guys. I was pretty ruff on them about Giolito Bellinger Hoskins last year so they might have finally learned. Although new people could show up.
Ben Cherington is REALLY going for it.
I don’t see how he really can “go for it” – the market is in the process of playing itself out. So far, overpriced contracts have ruled the day. Small market teams need to lay in the weeds and wait out the top end of the market, then pounce on undervalued FAs or swing a trade. You’ve got to wait to see who is going to be expendable once the big FAs land.
For example, the Mets sign Soto and deem Starling Marte expendable. That’s when you move in and convince the Mets to either pay most of the salary and get half of an RF platoon or you’ll pay most in return for a decent prospect AND Marte while sending back a marginal prospect. The Pirates are not in the Soto market – which is better, snagging someone like Marte for peanuts or signing Max Kepler for $10 million and getting last year’s Kepler vs. the 2023 one?
Right now, the Pirates are mitigating risk, being patient. I’d be more upset if Cherington was signing a huge multi-year FA, knowing that such a contract precludes any chance of having Skenes for more than a few years.
Pundit- They will have to trade Skenes in three years now as there is no way that they can afford him.Hopefully he stays healthy in that time.
He will be worth every penny otherwise.
While I like many of your ideas, Pundit, I disagree with the economics associated with the one-size-fits-all excuse of being “small market” and the equation with lack of finances
No, they’ll never compete with LA or any teams with bottomless coffers, but if there’s anything to learn from the Milwaukees, Clevelands, Baltimores and Kansas City’s of the world, it’s that winning is possible. You just need all the parts in place and it starts with ownership. Here in Pittsburgh, we have the worst.
The rebuild is over. For now. But the foundation didn’t make it through without problems. Whereas similar situations in Milwaukee or KC are addressed by spending some cash on mid level players to augment the kids that have been developed, here it’s an exercise in clicking the heels together and hoping a Tellez or Taylor can somehow catch fire instead of spending.
And it’ll never change
This team isn’t that far from competing. They have Reynolds and Cruz. They have starting pitching. But they refuse to sign or trade for guys who’d enhance the bigger picture
That’s the reality. Guys like Santana, Bell….yeah, I’d almost expect such a signing. But they alone won’t move the needle
I’ve been a fan since my dad took me to Forbes Field a thousand years ago. And all I hope for is a .500 team. That’s the best we can hope for
Let’s not worry about signing a better first baseman than last year or another outfielder not named Michael A Taylor
Instead let’s sign a never has been pitcher
Hey Dream, what happened to TiredOldDude?
He’s alive. Too cold to type though.
I worry about our friends when they don’t post their comments
This includes you Dream
I big Cherington move will bring him out. He would have enjoyed that if the Pirates got Naylor they are world series contenders comment.
This is his year though. Or years. All he needs to be happy is 500. They should be there rest of decade mostly. Might even get a playoff spot. See what they do. I already moved into the 2030s. That’s why I wanted a new gm. You gotta have top player development for consistent success.
He’s still here. Between being unable to log in with previous names to forgetting passwords and not being able to recover them, he’s alive and kicking.
I’m afraid that the one big move BC will make this offseason will be for another Van Meter clone
Paul-No worries.Van Meter was nothing more than a temporary stopgap on a very bad team who could also serve as a relief pitcher thereby enhancing his value.
Inasmuch as the Pirates have achieved mediocrity they no longer need players like him.
Paul- A+ comment.