TODAY: Ramirez has signed a new minor league contract with the Pirates, as per his MLB.com profile page. Ramirez has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
JULY 4: The Pirates have released right-handers Yohan Ramírez and Peter Strzelecki, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Gorman adds that Ramírez triggered a release clause in his contract.
Ramírez, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Bucs in the offseason. He has been putting up good numbers this year, so it’s understandable that he triggered his release clause. He has thrown 29 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis with a 3.41 earned run average. His 28.2% strikeout rate and 52.9% ground ball rate are both well above average, while his 8.4% walk rate is right around par.
Despite that solid work, the Pirates didn’t call him up. He’ll head to the open market to see what other opportunities are out there for him. In addition to his recent minor league numbers, he has some decent major league work on his track record. He threw 169 innings for various clubs over the previous five seasons with a 4.58 ERA, 22.8% strikeout rate, 11.3% walk rate and 44.6% ground ball rate.
Other clubs around the league have shown interest in him in the past. He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which led to him getting passed around the league. He went to the White Sox, Mets, Orioles, Mets again, Dodgers and Red Sox from September 2023 to July of 2024 via waiver claims or small trades. He eventually cleared waivers late last year and was able to elect free agency at season’s end, which led to his deal with the Bucs. Based on all of that previous interest, his phone could be ringing in the coming days.
As for Strzelecki, 30, his case seems to be more of a straightforward release. Outrighted off the big league roster in March, he has posted a 9.90 ERA in 20 Triple-A innings this year. A tiny 43.5% strand rate played a role there but he also had subpar strikeout and walk rates of 14.7% and 11.8% respectively.
That’s a small sample size and he has some decent big league numbers in his past as well. He logged 83 2/3 innings over the past three seasons with a 3.44 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. His poor form in 2025 will naturally tamp down interest but perhaps there’s a club out there that feels there’s a way to get him back on track.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Still one of the best thumbnails ever!
And as useful as a hangnail.
Yarrr, the waiver wire be a harsh mistress.
I don’t think that hat is big enough – it looks a little snug on him.
Welcome back to the Dodgers. We need some bulk innings pitched.
Why not call him up? The Pirates bullpen is garbage
It’s actually been very good without Holderman and with Bednar returning to form. And Santana, Mattison, Ferguson, and Ashcraft have been solid.
Like the good people of Capistrano awaiting the annual return of birds, your listing puts me on the edge of my seat as I await that most wonderful time of year for Pirates fans: the trade deadline
Uh, they have a top 3 pen, Mr Baseball
You don’t mess with the Yohan
Like most guys who come into the Pirates looking for one last shot, next stop Asia
Yohan had a bad start to the year but has pitched extremely well over the last two months.
I had not known that Peter had a decent ML record.He was awful this year though.
This along with Stratton’s loss leaves the AAA depth eliminated except for Moreta.
The Pirates bullpen has been very very good over the last month.They will lose Ferguson but Borucki and Holderman may have a hard time making it back especially if Nicolas ever gets his act together and stops walking too many batters.
Agreed! I’d be fine with no more Borucki and not sure about Holderman. He’s been impossible to keep sending out there. I’m almost expecting a season ending injury at this point because something has to be wrong for him to be this bad.
I guess it doesn’t hurt to have these two around in the minors because you never know when injuries can pop up.
Good news.
I think that we can all agree also that the days of calling up the Bidos and Woodfords and Lauers to start are hopefully over.