Pirates pitchers Montana DuRapau, Williams Jerez and Luis Escobar have all cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. The three were designated for assignment a week ago. Nobody from this group has been outrighted in the past, nor do they have enough service time to opt for free agency, so they’re all slated to remain with the Pirates.
Among the trio, the 27-year-old DuRapau was the busiest at the major league level in 2019. He totaled 14 appearances and 17 1/3 innings, during which opposing hitters lit him up for 18 earned runs on 27 hits, four home runs and nine walks (against 22 strikeouts).
Jerez, also 27 and the lone left-hander of the troika, divided the season between the Pirates and Giants, with whom he combined to surrender five earned runs on 12 hits, nine walks and nine strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. He was much more successful in 56 Triple-A frames, logging a 3.86 ERA/4.03 FIP with 9.8 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9.
Escobar, 23, got his first taste of the majors this past season, though he struggled in 5 2/3 frames, yielding five earned on 10 hits and four walks, and striking out just two hitters. Escobar fared better (albeit not great) at the minors’ highest level in 2019, as he managed a 4.09 ERA/5.06 FIP with 9.33 K/9 and 5.24 BB/9 across 55 innings.
