Pirates Rumors

The Pirates designated right-hander Tyler Beede and lefty Dillon Peters for assignment this afternoon, per a team announcement. Southpaw Eric Stout was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Beede’s spot on the active roster; Peters had been on the injured list, so there’s no corresponding transaction in his case. Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.

Beede spent four months in Pittsburgh, working primarily as a multi-inning reliever. Since being claimed off waivers from the Giants in mid-May, he’s worked 51 2/3 innings across 25 appearances (including five starts). It was Beede’s longest stretch of MLB action since 2019, but the 29-year-old generally struggled. He posted a 5.23 ERA with the Bucs, only striking out 14.8% of batters faced on a modest 9.1% swinging strike percentage. Beede has induced a fair number of ground-balls, but the lack of swing-and-miss eventually squeezed him off the roster.

A former first-round pick, Beede had spent his entire professional career with the Giants before this year. He made 22 starts in 24 appearances with San Francisco three years ago, pitching to a 5.08 ERA but working in the mid-90s with nearly average peripherals. It was enough to offer some hope that Beede might be a back-of-the-rotation option for a few seasons, but his 2020-21 campaigns were mostly wiped out by injury. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, keeping him out of action until last July. After a month primarily spent working his way back into game shape, he suffered a lower back strain that ended his 2021 campaign after a lone big league outing.

Beede is out of minor league option years, so the Giants had to carry him on the big league roster or make him available to other teams this season. He spent the first month in the Bay Area, coming out of the bullpen six times. After walking more batters than he struck out, he was designated for assignment and placed on waivers. Pittsburgh used their relatively high priority on the waiver wire to bring him aboard, but he didn’t manage to sustain some early success. Beede carried a 2.64 ERA as a Pirate through the end of July, but he’s been tagged for an even 9.00 ERA in 21 frames since then.

The Bucs will now place him on waivers themselves. He’s averaged 95.6 MPH on his sinker this season, with the still-intact arm strength perhaps intriguing enough another team will roll the dice on a claim. Beede is slated to be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and would be controllable through 2025 if another team is willing to give him a roster spot.

Peters, meanwhile, was first acquired from the Angels in July 2021. The 30-year-old picked up six starts down the stretch last season, but he’s worked primarily as a long reliever this year. Peters has started just four of his 22 outings in 2022, tossing 39 1/3 innings. He owns a 4.58 ERA and has fanned 15.8% of batters faced while walking opponents at an elevated 10.3% clip. He landed on the 15-day injured list in early August with inflammation in his throwing elbow, but he’s apparently ready for reinstatement after a pair of rehab outings at Double-A Altoona.

Like Beede, Peters is out of minor league options. The Bucs would’ve had to reinstall him onto the MLB pitching staff now that he’s healthy, but they’ll instead take him off the 40-man roster. He’ll land on waivers in the next few days. Peters is a virtual lock to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player this winter if another team were to claim him and keep him in the big leagues. He’s controllable through 2026.