Pirates Rumors

Pirates Claim Joey Wentz

By Darragh McDonald | September 3, 2024 at 2:40pm CDT

The Pirates have claimed left-hander Joey Wentz off waivers from the Tigers, according to announcements from both clubs. The Tigers had designated him for assignment in recent days. The Pirates had an open 40-man spot but will need to open an active roster spot once Wentz reports to the team since he is out of options.

Wentz, now 26, was once a notable prospect. He was selected 40th overall by Atlanta in the 2016 draft and posted some good numbers in the minors before being flipped to the Tigers in the July 2019 trade that sent Shane Greene the other way. Unfortunately, Wentz required Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, putting him on the shelf for that year and part of 2021. The Tigers nonetheless believed in his future, adding him to their 40-man roster in November of 2020 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Since coming back from his surgery absence, he has generally posted solid numbers in the minors but not in the majors. Over the 2021-23 seasons, he tossed 154 innings on the farm, allowing 3.97 earned runs per nine innings. His 11.4% walk rate in that time was a bit high but he struck out 26.7% of batters faced. But he had a 5.99 ERA in 138 1/3 major league innings during that same time frame, striking out just 19.9% of batters faced in the big leagues.

He exhausted his option years in that stretch and has been out of options here in 2024. The Tigers kept him in their bullpen for the first few months of the season with some mixed results. He was able to provide them with a multi-inning relief arm, soaking up 55 1/3 frames over 38 outings, but with a 5.37 ERA. His 23.6% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate are close to average but his .333 batting average on balls in play and 69.8% strand rate have both been a bit on the unlucky side. His 4.52 FIP and 3.97 SIERA both suggest he deserved better results than he got this year.

Perhaps that is what the Pirates will be banking on, in addition to Wentz’s previous prospect pedigree. They will have to keep him on their active roster due to his out-of-options status but that should be doable with just a few weeks left in the season and the club now out of contention. If they manage to keep Wentz on their roster, he can be retained well into the future. He will finish this season with under two years of service time, meaning he can be retained for five seasons after this one.

Pirates Release Jose Rojas

By Darragh McDonald | September 2, 2024 at 8:15pm CDT

The Pirates have released infielder/outfielder Jose Rojas, according to his transactions tracker on MLB.com. He’ll head back out to the open market and assess the options for his next opportunity.

Rojas, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in July. He got into 15 games for Triple-A Indianapolis, stepping to the plate 59 times. He hit just .192/.288/.423 in that small sample, seemingly weighed down by a .189 batting average on balls in play. His 20.3% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate in that time were solid and he hit three home runs. Regardless, the Bucs decided to move on.

Prior to signing with the Pirates, he was coming off a pretty good stretch of decent results. He started 2024 on a minor league deal with the Yankees and slashed .254/.359/.561 in 67 games for their Triple-A club, leading to a 131 wRC+. That deal with the Yankees came on the heels of a good year in Korea. He spent 2023 with the KBO’s Doosan Bears and slashed .253/.345/.474 for a 126 wRC+ in 122 games for them.

Rojas has 83 games of major league experience, which came with the Angels in 2021 and 2022. He didn’t hit well in that time, producing a line of .188/.245/.339. He can perhaps intrigue clubs by the strong results he’s had in the two years since, but it’s an awkward part of the calendar. Now that it’s September, he won’t be eligible to play in the postseason for any new club he signs with, while clubs out of contention would likely prefer to give playing time to guys who are younger and still developing. Rojas can provide defensive versatility, as he has played all of the non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners in his career.

Pirates Activate Ryan Borucki, Colin Holderman

By Nick Deeds | September 1, 2024 at 12:11pm CDT

The Pirates announced earlier today that they’ve activated left-hander Ryan Borucki from the 60-day injured list and right-hander Colin Holderman from the 15-day injured list. No corresponding moves were necessary, as the club had space on the 40-man roster available. Pittsburgh was able to add two pitchers to the roster when rosters expanded today as opposed to the typical additions of one position player and one pitcher because the club already had 14 position players on the roster after Andrew McCutchen’s recent return from the IL.

Borucki, 30, emerged as one of the club’s most reliable relievers last year when he pitched to a 2.45 ERA with a 3.50 FIP in 40 1/3 innings last year. The southpaw paired a solid 21.7% strikeout rate with a strong 46.8% groundball rate and allowed free passes to just 2.6% of opponents last year. That breakout performance came on the heels of an uneven career with the Blue Jays where he struggled to a 4.47 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 151 innings of work spread across five seasons, and it made the Pirates’ decision to avoid arbitration with Borucki by agreeing to a $1.6MM salary something of a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, the club’s investment in the lefty has not paid off as he has been limited to just four appearances this year due to triceps inflammation. The southpaw has been struggling to work his way back since he first went out on a rehab assignment in late June but finally found some consistency after returning to rehab in mid-August, with a 1.80 ERA at the Triple-A level across five rehab outings. Borucki now figures to join Aroldis Chapman and Jalen Beeks as a left-handed option out of the bullpen for the Pirates down the stretch as he looks to finish the season strong with an eye toward free agency in November.

As for Holderman, the right-hander has been a steady middle relief option for the Pirates all throughout the year. In his second full season with Pittsburgh, the 28-year-old has posted a solid 3.43 ERA in 42 innings, though his 4.43 FIP and an elevated 11.3% walk rate are potential red flags that he may not be able to keep that performance up long-term. Regardless, Holderman figures to rejoin the club’s middle relief corps alongside recently-demoted closer David Bednar down the stretch.

Pirates Re-Sign Jake Woodford

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2024 at 11:58pm CDT

TODAY: Woodford elected free agency, but MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf reports (X link) that Woodford has re-signed with the Pirates on a new minor league contract.

AUGUST 29: Pirates righty Jake Woodford cleared outright waivers, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. He has the ability to elect free agency because he has been outrighted before in his career.

Woodford pitched in six games for Pittsburgh before they designated him for assignment on Monday. The 27-year-old righty started four of those appearances and posted a 6.95 ERA across 22 innings. Woodford had allowed 10 runs over two starts with the White Sox earlier in the year and carries an 8.01 ERA over 30 1/3 frames.

A former supplemental first-round pick of the Cardinals, Woodford pitched parts of four seasons with St. Louis. He combined for 184 2/3 innings of 4.29 ERA ball. That’s decent run prevention but came with a well below-average 15.1% strikeout percentage. Woodford’s lack of missed bats has caught up to him, as he has followed up a 6.23 ERA last year with this season’s disappointing numbers.

Woodford has gotten better results in the upper minors. He has started 17 games in Triple-A this year, working to a 4.02 ERA through 85 innings. He carries a matching 4.02 mark over parts of six seasons at that level.

Pirates Outright Brady Feigl

By Darragh McDonald | August 31, 2024 at 3:10pm CDT

August 31: Feigl has been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to his MLB.com transactions tracker.

August 27: The Pirates announced that both right-handers Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski have been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis while left-hander Brady Feigl has been designated for assignment.

Feigl, 33, is a journeyman who has been known in baseball circles for some time due to an odd coincidence, or series of coincidences. He and Brady Feigl got some attention a few years ago due to not only having the same name, but also having a similar appearance. Both had red beards, wore glasses and were the same height. Both are pitchers, though one throws from the left and the other from the right. Inside Edition did a story on the weird juxtapositions between the two five years ago (YouTube link), even getting the two to take a DNA test, though it turned out they aren’t related.

The left-handed Feigl was added to Pittsburgh’s roster on Sunday after over a decade grinding away in the minors and indy ball. He had tossed 51 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year with a 3.83 earned run average, 29% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate.

He was able to make his major league debut yesterday, though it didn’t go especially well. He allowed six earned runs in an inning and two thirds, allowing seven hits without recording a strikeout. While sitting on a career ERA of 32.40 was probably not how he dreamed it would go, he can at least say he made it to the show.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Pirates will have to place Feigl on waivers in the coming days. If he goes unclaimed, he won’t have the right to reject an outright assignment, as he lacks both three years of service and a previous career outright. If that comes to pass, he will return to his previous status, providing the Bucs with depth in a non-roster capacity.

NL Central Notes: Pham, Walker, Greene, Abbott, McCutchen, Heller

By Mark Polishuk | August 31, 2024 at 9:53am CDT

Jordan Walker “will play every day” down the stretch for the Cardinals, manager Oliver Marmol told The Athletic’s Katie Woo and other reporters yesterday after St. Louis recalled the top prospect from Triple-A Memphis. After debuting with a solid rookie season in 2023, Walker has hit only .151/.229/.233 over 83 plate appearances at the MLB level this season, and the Cardinals have kept him at Triple-A for much of the season. While his production in Memphis this year was only decent, the Cards have seen enough to bring Walker back for an extended stretch of playing time that will ideally set the table for Walker to stick as a lineup regular in 2025 and beyond.

Some space in the Cardinals’ outfield was cleared for Walker when Tommy Pham was designated for assignment, a day after the team first put Pham on irrevocable waivers. Woo writes that Pham welcomed the news and had even discussed such a move with the Cards, as he’ll now have a chance at more regular playing time on another team. If he joins another club before Sunday, Pham will also be eligible for that new club’s postseason roster.

Pirates Remove David Bednar From Closer Role

By Anthony Franco | August 30, 2024 at 10:21pm CDT

The Pirates are pulling star closer David Bednar out of the ninth inning, manager Derek Shelton told the Pittsburgh beat before tonight’s loss to Cleveland. The team will go with a committee approach for now (X link via Alex Stumpf of MLB.com).

Bednar was one of the best relievers in the majors each season between 2021-23. He posted a sub-3.00 ERA with plus strikeout rates in all three years. Bednar worked as a setup option in 2021 before assuming the closing role in ’22. He made the All-Star Game in both 2022 and ’23 and topped the National League with 39 saves just last season. That’s particularly impressive on a team that finished 10 games below .500.

This year has been far less consistent. Bednar was torched for more than 11 earned runs per nine through the end of April. He turned in an excellent 2.01 earned run average in 23 appearances from the start of May through the All-Star Break, though his modest 20.7% strikeout rate suggested he still wasn’t back to peak form.

The wheels have come back off since the Midsummer Classic. Bednar has given up 16 runs (15 earned) in his last 14 2/3 innings. Opponents have teed off at a .328/.434/.531 slash in 77 plate appearances. Bednar’s strikeouts are still down (20.8%) while his walk rate has spiked to an untenable 14.3% clip. His season hit its nadir on Wednesday. Shelton called upon Bednar to protect a two-run lead against the Cubs. He allowed three hits and two walks (one of which was intentional) while recording two outs. Chicago tagged Bednar for five runs — two of which were inherited runners who scored after he was replaced by Jalen Beeks — and went on to a 14-10 win.

For the season, Bednar now carries a 6.32 ERA through 47 innings. His 22.9% strikeout percentage is six points lower than last season’s mark, which had been the lowest of his career. He’s giving up home runs at an elevated rate of 1.53 per nine innings. Bednar’s 97.2 MPH average fastball velocity is still as strong as ever. Opponents have nevertheless feasted on the pitch, connecting for six homers with a .286 average and .527 slugging mark.

Aside from Bednar, Aroldis Chapman and Colin Holderman have been Pittsburgh’s primary high-leverage arms. Holderman has been out for a few weeks with a sprained wrist, leaving Chapman as the favorite for most of the closing work. Dennis Santana and Carmen Mlodzinski are potential options to pick up save chances if Shelton wants to turn to a right-hander.

How the Pirates handle the ninth inning for the next few weeks isn’t as significant as determining whether Bednar can recapture his lockdown form. A disastrous August has tanked their playoff hopes. As the focus turns toward the offseason, the front office could face questions about Bednar’s future with the organization. Pittsburgh rebuffed trade interest when the big righty was at his peak form. They had an extended control window and probably had some designs on agreeing to an extension with the Pittsburgh native. That’s a tougher call to make coming off the worst season of Bednar’s career.

The 29-year-old is playing on a $4.15MM arbitration salary. The process is designed to escalate salaries even amidst down years, so Bednar’s price tag next year should top $5MM. His track record makes a non-tender difficult to envision, but the Pirates could entertain trading his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility.

Marco Gonzales To Undergo Flexor Surgery; Hunter Stratton Undergoes Knee Surgery

By Steve Adams | August 28, 2024 at 11:54am CDT

Pirates lefty Marco Gonzales will undergo surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, the team announced to reporters Wednesday (X link via Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Additionally, right-hander Hunter Stratton already underwent knee surgery to repair the ruptured patellar tendon he recently suffered. Gonzales’ procedure will be performed in early September and comes with a recovery timetable of nine months to a year, while Stratton’s procedure was completed today. He’s projected to need seven to ten months to be ready for a return to a big league mound.

Pittsburgh acquired Gonzales in a trade with the Braves this offseason, taking on $3MM of the veteran lefty’s $12MM salary in the process. (Atlanta had taken on Gonzales’ contract as part of their deal to acquire Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners.) A pair of forearm injuries will ultimately limit Gonzales to only seven starts for the Bucs — the first five of which were quite effective. The 32-year-old notched a 2.70 ERA over 26 2/3 frames in that stretch, fanning 17.3% of his opponents against a 5.5% walk rate. In his final two starts with the Pirates, however, Gonzales yielded nine runs on 15 hits and five walks in only seven innings.

The Bucs technically hold a 2025 option on Gonzales, but that’s priced at $15MM and comes with no buyout if the team opts to decline it. Given Gonzales’ recent injury troubles and the now lengthy rehab period he’ll face following surgery, it’s a foregone conclusion that the team will decline the option and make Gonzales a free agent. He’ll likely be ticketed for a minor league deal in free agency.

Injuries have held Gonzales to only 17 starts and 83 2/3 innings over the past two seasons, but prior to that the lefty was a fixture in the Mariners’ rotation. Seattle acquired him from the Cardinals in a straight-up swap for then-prospect Tyler O’Neill, and Gonzales quickly cemented himself in Seattle’s rotation thereafter. From 2018-22, Gonzales started 131 games for the Mariners, tallying 765 2/3 innings of 3.94 ERA ball with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate.

While Gonzales’ injury likely ends his tenure with Pittsburgh, that’s decidedly not the case for Stratton. The 27-year-old will finish the current season with just over one year of big league service time, meaning he’s controllable for five seasons beyond the current campaign. Given the solid nature of his results in 2024, Stratton has likely pitched his way into a future role with the team, so long as he can make a full recovery from his knee injury.

Dating back to last year’s MLB debut, Stratton has pitched 49 2/3 innings for the Pirates, during which he’s turned in a 3.26 ERA with a 21% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 41% ground-ball rate. He’s averaged 95.6 mph on his heater, done a nice job at dodging hard contact and recorded a hearty 12.6% swinging-strike rate that suggests some growth in his strikeout rate remains possible.

If Stratton is able to return on the short end of the team’s provided timetable, he’d be ready for game action near the end of spring training next year. That might ticket him for an early stint on the injured list, but a return in April would be feasible. If he skews closer to the lengthier end, a summer return would still be in the cards.

The Opener: Red Sox, Jones, Pitchers’ Duel

By Nick Deeds | August 27, 2024 at 8:47am CDT

On the heels of some early morning transaction news, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Red Sox 40-man move incoming:

The Red Sox are poised to select the contract of veteran left-hander Rich Hill today. Hill, 44, will have participated in the 20th MLB season of his career when he next takes the mound for his hometown team. Before the team can welcome the veteran back into the fold, however, they’ll need to clear space on the 40-man and active rosters. With no obvious candidates for a 60-day IL stint currently at the club’s disposal, that space figures to come by way of a player being designated for assignment. That decision should be coming down the pipeline later today, ahead of their game against the Blue Jays that’s scheduled to begin at 7:10pm local time.

2. Jones to return to action:

The Pirates have been without one of their best rotation arms for nearly two months now, as right-handed rookie Jared Jones has been on the 15-day IL with a lat strain since early July. That’ll change today, however, as Pittsburgh plans to activate Jones ahead of a start against the Cubs in a game scheduled for 6:40pm local time. He’ll get a tough assignment in his first start back with the club as he takes the ball opposite southpaw Justin Steele (3.07 ERA). Jones is no slouch himself, of course, as the 23-year-old righty pitched to a strong 3.56 ERA through 16 starts with the Pirates prior to his injury while striking out an impressive 26.4% of batters faced. Since Jones was never placed on the 60-day IL, only an active roster move will be necessary to make room for the rookie’s return this evening.

3. Pitchers’ Duel in Philadelphia:

After a close series opener in Philadelphia last night, Astros and Phillies fans are in for an exciting starting pitching matchup in Game 2 this evening. On the mound for Houston will be future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in his second start since returning from the injured list. The 41-year-old veteran of 19 MLB seasons hasn’t quite pitched to the level that earned him his third career Cy Young Award back in 2022, but he’s still be an effective hurler overall with a 3.92 ERA and a 22% strikeout rate in 11 starts this year. Verlander is also coming off a solid performance against Boston his last time out, where he posted five innings of two-run ball while striking out six.

Opposite Verlander will be longtime Phillie Aaron Nola, who is enjoying a nice performance in the first season of the seven-year deal he signed back in November. In 159 1/3 innings of work across 26 starts this year, Nola has pitched to a strong 3.45 ERA with a 22.6% strikeout rate. While that production has arguably made him only the third or fourth starter in a vaunted Phillies rotation this year, it’s still a strong record commensurate with Nola’s reputation as one of the league’s top arms. The 31-year-old’s last time out was quite similar to that of Verlander, as he posted 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball while striking out five opponents. The pair are scheduled to begin their duel at 6:40pm local time this evening.

Pirates To Move Oneil Cruz To Center Field

By Darragh McDonald | August 26, 2024 at 11:59pm CDT

Pirates manager Derek Shelton announced to reporters today that shortstop Oneil Cruz will be moved to center field. As to whether this is a permanent move or just an experiment, Shelton said “I think right now, we’re looking at him as a center fielder” per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will be the club’s primary shortstop for the rest of the year, per Hiles on X.

Cruz, now 25, has long been an exciting player due to his obvious natural abilities. His Statcast page features plenty of red, as he frequently features as one of the best players in the league in terms of things like exit velocity, sprint speed and arm strength.

However, there have always been questions about concerning elements in his game. One of those is his that his tremendous ability to crush the baseball also comes with huge amounts of strikeouts. And the other big question has been about whether his height would prevent him from sticking at shortstop. Cruz is listed at 6’7″ and there’s never really been a player of that size at that position for an extended period of time. The Bucs have given it a try but the results haven’t been amazing. Cruz has over 1700 major league innings at shortstop now but with -8 Defensive Runs Saved and -13 Outs Above Average.

It seems the club has decided now is time to try a change. The Bucs hovered around contention for much of the summer but they have fallen back lately. As of right now, they are eight games back of a playoff spot in the National League and would need to pass six other clubs in order to get in. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them just a 0.4% chance of pulling it off while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are even less optimistic at 0.1%.

With the season more or less on life support, the club is clearly turning its attention to the future. Center fielder Michael A. Taylor has reportedly been placed on waivers as the club hopes for someone to take on what’s left of his $4MM salary. If he is claimed, it would save the club some money and open up the position for Cruz. If Taylor isn’t claimed, the club will presumably either move him to a bench role or cut him from the roster regardless.

The remaining five weeks of the schedule will give Cruz a chance to get familiar with the position, which he has never played. He has 80 minor league innings in left field and one major league inning in that corner as well, but that’s the sum of his outfield experience. Perhaps the natural athletic abilities of Cruz, particularly his speed, can be better deployed in center field.

If he seems passable out there in center, it will naturally impact the club’s future, this offseason and beyond. He can still be retained for four seasons beyond this one, so he could give the club an anchor in center if he takes to it. Bryan Reynolds was once the club’s center fielder but he has mostly been in the corners for the past two years. Jack Suwinski got a shot up the middle after a strong 2023 season but he crashed back to earth this year.

The Bucs acquired Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins at the deadline to try to solidify right field. He has three seasons of club control beyond this one while Reynolds is under contract through 2030 with a club option for 2031. The club also has guys like Billy McKinney, Connor Joe, Ji Hwan Bae, Joshua Palacios and Suwinski on the roster to potentially help out in the future as well.

Kiner-Falefa is a competent defender at multiple positions, including shortstop, and is under contract for another season beyond this one. The club will need a long-term solution there but he can cover the spot in the short term. Termarr Johnson, one of the club’s best prospects, is a middle infielder but hasn’t yet reached Double-A and will need some more time to climb the ladder.

If the club feels good about Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and Cruz in center, then their offseason can be spent focusing on other aspects of the roster, such as second base, first base or the bullpen. For Cruz personally, he has been a strong offensive performer despite his strikeouts. He has hit .252/.314/.459 so far in his career for a wRC+ of 111 while also stealing 30 bases. That has come with subpar shortstop defense but he could perhaps increase his future earning power if he can become a solid defensive center fielder instead.

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