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Charlie Tilson, Jake Elmore, Luis Escobar Among Pirates’ Minor League Releases

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The Pirates released 39 minor league players this week, as first reported by John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. Outfielder Charlie Tilson, utilityman Jake Elmore, right-hander Luis Escobar and infielder Sherman Johnson stand out as players with prior big league experience.

Tilson, 27, joined the Bucs on a minor league deal this winter after spending the past four seasons in the White Sox organization. Acquired by Chicago in the 2016 swap that sent lefty Zach Duke to the Cardinals, Tilson made his MLB debut shortly after that trade. However, a torn hamstring suffered in his debut game required surgery, and he’s been plagued by a series of leg and ankle injuries ever since. In 280 Major League plate appearances, the former second-round pick carries just a .246/.310/.290 batting line. Tilson was known for his speed early in his career, but the 46 stolen bases he recorded in 134 games back in 2015 dwarf the eight bags he swiped in a combined 115 games between Triple-A and the Majors last year.

The 32-year-old Elmore has the most MLB experience of the group, having appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.

Escobar, 24, made his big league debut last year and received 60 grades on his fastball while coming up through the minors. He averaged 95.1 mph on that heater in his 5 2/3-inning cup of coffee last year, although he also walked four batters, hit another and threw a wild pitch in that short time. Escobar’s 2019 results in Triple-A were solid, particularly considering how hitter-friendly that league was last year: 4.09 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 46.6 percent grounder rate. That said, it’s not exactly a huge surprise that he was cut loose; Escobar did go unclaimed on waivers back in November.

As for the 29-year-old Johnson, he’s an eight-year minor league veteran who received the briefest of looks with the Angels back in 2018, appearing in 10 games but going hitless in 11 plate appearances. He has at least 450 innings at all four infield positions and, while he’s never shown much power, has been a consistent on-base threat with fairly low strikeout rates in his minor league career.

Pirates Announce 11 Non-Roster Invitations

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The Pirates have announced a slew of non-roster invitations to Spring Training, including some new signings. Former big leaguers Tom Koehler and Nik Turley have evidently inked new deals with the Pittsburgh organization after qualifying for minor-league free agency at the end of the 2019 season.

Koehler spent last year with the Bucs, making some strides in his effort to return from shoulder surgery but not fully turning the corner. The 33-year-old is now two full seasons removed from the majors. In 784 1/3 innings at the game’s highest level, he carries a 4.39 ERA. Koehler obviously showed enough for the club to think there’s still a shot at a rebound.

As for the left-handed Turley, he hasn’t recorded any professional stats at all in the past two seasons owing to suspension and injury. He briefly made it to the majors in 2017 with the Twins but was knocked around in 17 2/3 innings.

Among the other players now slated to participate in MLB camp are Montana DuRapau, Luis Escobar, and Williams Jerez. All three were outrighted in one fell swoop at the outset of the offseason. Having cleared waivers, they remained with the Pittsburgh organization. The same occurred a few weeks earlier for James Marvel, who also gets an invite after debuting last year with the Bucs. Also receiving camp invitations are minor-leaguer catchers Christian Kelley and Jason Delay, hurlers Nick Mears and Blake Weiman, and outfielder Jared Oliva.

Pirates Outright Three Pitchers

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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.

Pirates Designate Four Players For Assignment, Set 40-Man Roster

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The Pirates set their roster in advance of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft tonight, selecting the contracts of right-handers Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce as well as infielders Ke’Bryan Hayes, Will Craig and Oneil Cruz. In a corresponding series of moves, the Pirates have designated lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar for assignment.

Of the four players designated for assignment, Agrazal had the largest workload with the Pirates in 2019, pitching 73 1/3 innings but struggling to a 4.91 ERA, 5.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 39.9 percent grounder rate. Each of the other three posted an ERA north of 7.00, though Escobar and Jerez each threw fewer than six innings. The 27-year-old DuRapau, meanwhile, enjoyed an outstanding season in Triple-A but allowed 18 runs in 17 1/3 innings at the MLB level.

Hayes, 23 in January, is fresh off a .265/.336/.415 season and against much older competition in Triple-A. Regarded as one of baseball’s premier defensive prospects, Hayes is considered to be among the top farmhands not just in the Pirates’ system but in the entire game.

Cruz, too, has generated some top 100 fanfare and just put the finishing touches on a huge but shortened season, hitting a combined .298/.356/.475 in 73 games. The towering 6’7″ Cruz, acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Tony Watson to the Dodgers, received 80 grades in arm strength and raw power from Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs on their midseason rankings, where he checked in at No. 34 in MLB.

Ponce, acquired from the Brewers in this summer’s Jordan Lyles swap, averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per inning out of the bullpen. Cederlind, also 23, had a solid year out of the ’pen and reached the Triple-A level for the first time. Craig had a down season in Triple-A but has long been considered to be among the top 15 prospects in the Pittsburgh farm and will give them some near-term corner infield depth.

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