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Pirates Exercise Options Over Archer, Marte; Outright Four Players

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The Pirates announced a series of roster moves today. In addition to exercising club options over Chris Archer and Starling Marte — moves that were all but a given — the club has outrighted four players. James Marvel, Alex McRae, Yefry Ramirez and Wei-Chung Wang were all dropped from the Pittsburgh 40-man roster.

The Pirates don’t have a general manager at the moment — assistant GM Kevan Graves is filling that role on an interim basis — though it was still undoubtedly easy for their front office to pick up Archer and Marte at their 2020 tabs. Archer has been surprisingly below average since the Pirates acquired him from the Rays in a July 2018 trade that’s looking like one of the most regrettable deals in Pittsburgh history. Nevertheless, as someone who’s due an affordable $9MM in 2020, it’s worth keeping Archer around and hoping for a bounce-back season or trying to shop him during the winter.

Marte, who’s owed $11.5MM next year, looks like an even more obvious trade candidate than Archer. The 31-year-old Marte’s fresh off yet another strong campaign, one in which he totaled at least 3.0 fWAR for the sixth time since his first full season since he debuted in 2013. However, Marte’s down to his last two years of team control, so if the Pirates don’t expect to push for contention during that span, putting him on the block may make sense. That’s all the more true when considering the lack of appealing center field alternatives on the free-agent market.

Of the players the Pirates outrighted, Wang worked the largest slate of innings in 2019. While he only tossed four frames for the Buccos, the 27-year-old logged another 27 innings with Oakland prior to landing in Pittsburgh. On the season overall, Wang posted a solid 3.77 ERA, though he did so with a grisly 18-to-14 K/BB ratio in those 31 innings of relief. He held lefties to a lowly .220/.298/.280 batting line through 57 plate appearances but was tagged for an .823 OPS by righties. Wang, McRae and Ramirez will all have the option to elect free agency.

Pirates To Recall Mitch Keller

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Mitch Keller will be recalled from Triple-A to start tomorrow’s game against the Braves, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. The Pirates also announced that they’ve recalled Dovydas Neverauskas from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned Alex McRae in his place, giving them a fresh arm in the bullpen.

Tomorrow will be the second big league start for Keller, long lauded as one of the game’s premier pitching prospects. The 23-year-old was promoted for his MLB debut against the Reds in late May and struggled through a shaky outing that saw him yield six runs in four innings. Since that time, he’s gone back to Indy and allowed two runs on four hits and five walks with 18 strikeouts in 11 innings of work — including 12 consecutive outs recorded via strikeout in his most recent outing.

Earlier this week, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington indicated that while Keller was an option to start Wednesday, the team would also look outside the organization. The Pirates, as Huntington explained, do not want to continually shuttle Keller back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A. Rather, the organizational preference is that when Keller comes back up, he simply remains at the MLB level. That’s far from a declaration that this is a permanent call to the big leagues for Keller, but it stands to reason that he’ll have the opportunity to prove that he is worthy of an extended look. Throwing well against a tough Braves lineup on the road in their hitter-friendly park tomorrow would be one such way to make an impression.

The Pirates’ rotation has significantly underperformed so far in 2019, with Chris Archer taking a notable step back and both Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams missing extended periods on the injured list. Keller is the type of high-upside arm who could provide a boost to a Pittsburgh club that still hopes to contend despite a recent slide in the standings. Huntington has previously spoken about a desire to upgrade the team’s bullpen, and earlier this morning, it was reported that the team could look to trade Corey Dickerson given the team’s glut of productive outfielders. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of moving parts in Pittsburgh, and the next several weeks will prove pivotal in determining the team’s direction at the trade deadline.

Pirates Select Alex McRae, Transfer Corey Dickerson To 60-Day IL

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The Pirates announced that they’ve selected right-hander Alex McRae’s contract from Triple-A Indianapolis. To make 40-man room for McRae, Pittsburgh transferred outfielder Corey Dickerson from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL. The club also optioned reliever Dovydas Neverauskas.

McRae, a 10th-round pick of the Pirates in 2014, debuted in the majors last year with a 6 1/3-inning showing. He struggled during that small sample size, though, and the team outrighted him off its 40-man in December. The 26-year-old McRae also hasn’t been all that effective in Indianapolis, where he has logged a 4.89 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 165 2/3 innings since 2018.

Dickerson went to the 10-day IL on April 4 because of a right posterior shoulder strain. Considering he has already missed almost two months, Monday’s transaction shouldn’t affect Dickerson’s timetable. He just embarked on a rehab assignment May 24.

Pirates List Of Spring Non-Roster Invitees

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The Pirates released a list of non-roster invitees who have been invited to big league camp this spring, per a team announcement. The most notable name on the list belongs to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who ranks second on Baseball America’s list (subscription required) of Pirates top prospects.

Hayes, 22 in January, will likely spend 2019 in Triple A after slashing .293/.375/.444 with Double A Altoona last season, also earning Pittsburgh’s Minor League Player-Of-The-Year honors. Hayes has yet to see his power show up in game, but he’s otherwise marched steadily through the Pittsburgh system since being drafted 32nd overall in the 2015 draft.

Other notables include infielder Will Craig, Altoona’s MVP last season, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, a highly-regarded prospect in his own right who hit .302/.381/.438 in Double A last season, and right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, who tied for Pittsburgh’s minor-league lead in wins while going 13-6 with a 3.59 ERA over 153 innings for Triple A Indianapolis. It also happens to be his birthday, so Happy Birthday and congrats to Tyler, who turned 26 today.

The full list of those receiving the NRI includes Elvis Escobar, Geoff Hartlieb, Alex McRae, Eduardo Vera, Brandon Waddell, Blake Weiman, Jason Delay, Christian Kelley, and Arden Pabst.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/1/18

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Keeping track of the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Royals right-hander Burch Smith cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the minor leagues, per mlb.com’s transaction page.  The 28-year-old Smith was a once-promising prospect in the Padres system but has been beset by a string of injuries since.  From 2014′-17, the righty made just 13 appearances, all at the minor league level.  In 78 IP last season, the low-slot Smith allowed 15 HR and walked over 4.5 men per nine, though his average fastball velocity had increased nearly a mile and a half per hour since his last MLB stint in 2013 with San Diego.
  • Righty Mark Leiter of the Blue Jays has also been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, per Mike Wilner of SportsNet 590 The Fan. The 27-year-old Leiter is the son of the former 11-year big leaguer of the same name, and bested long odds as a 22nd round pick to reach the majors in 2017 with Philadelphia. In parts of two major league seasons with Philly and Toronto, Leiter has been a veritable gopher-ball machine, allowing nearly two homers per nine in 114 total IP, to go along with shaky command and an average strikeout rate.
  • Pirates righty Alex McRae, too, was outrighted to the minors after clearing waivers. McRae, 25, had embarked on a steady ascent through the Pirate farm until last year’s six-inning cameo at the MLB level. The 6’2, 220 lb starter, despite a mediocre strikeout rate, does an excellent job limiting free passes and big fly, and should again find a major league opportunity at some point in the future.

Pirates Designate Alex McRae For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they’ve designated right-hander Alex McRae for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, whose previously reported one-year deal has now been formally announced.

McRae, 25, made his MLB debut with the Bucs in 2018, allowing four runs with five strikeouts and five walks in 6 1/3 innings of relief. The former 10th-round pick (2014) spent the bulk of the season in the rotation for the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, where he logged a 4.77 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. McRae’s sinker sat at 92.4 mph during his brief MLB audition, and he’s used the pitch to generate average or better ground-ball tendencies throughout his minor league career.

While he hasn’t found success in Triple-A or the Majors yet, McRae did post a 3.61 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.54 HR/9 and a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate in 149 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate in 2017.

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