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Shea Spitzbarth

Reds Sign Shea Spitzbarth To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed right-hander Shea Spitzbarth to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the club’s Complex League affiliate for now but will presumably move to a higher level after getting some work in.

Spitzbarth, 28, has five innings of major league experience under his belt, which came with the Pirates in 2021. He recorded a 3.60 ERA in that brief time despite a miniscule 4.5% strikeout rate, getting helped out by a .176 batting average on balls in play and 89.3% strand rate. He spent the majority of that year in Triple-A, tossing 46 2/3 innings with a 2.12 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 44.1% ground ball rate.

He was outrighted at season’s end and signed a minor league deal with the Tigers for 2022. He threw 53 2/3 innings in the minors last year with a 2.85 ERA, though the numbers under the hood weren’t as impressive. His 20.5% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate were both a few ticks worse than league average. A .214 batting average on balls in play and 81.7% strand rate kept the ERA down but led to a 4.65 FIP.

The Reds have actually had a strong relief unit overall this year, as their collective bullpen ERA of 3.71 puts them in the top 10 league wide. However, their depth is getting tested by injuries, with each of Tejay Antone, Fernando Cruz, Derek Law, Casey Legumina, Reiver Sanmartin and Tony Santillan current on the IL. Spitzbarth will add some non-roster depth and try to earn his way back to the majors. If he does so, he still has options and less than a year of service time, which would give the Reds the option of retaining him as a cheap depth piece for an extended period of time.

Pirates Outright Seven, Chasen Shreve Elects Free Agency

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The Pirates announced a slew of roster moves today, outrighting seven players off the 40-man roster, per the team. Pitchers Chase De Jong, Enyel De Los Santos, Kyle Keller, Connor Overton, Chasen Shreve, and Shea Spitzbarth have all been outrighted to Triple-A. Infielder Wilmer Difo was also outrighted to Triple-A.

Shreve has elected free agency, per Jason Mackey of PGSportsNow (via Twitter).The 31-year-old southpaw posted a 3.20 ERA/4.73 FIP across 57 appearances out of the bullpen. Shreve has suited up for the Braves, Yankees, Cardinals, Mets, and Pirates over an eight-year career.

The Pirates also added a number of players to the 40-man roster, returning most from the 60-day injured list. Steven Brault, Blake Cederlind, Dillon Peters, Jose Soriano, Duane Underwood Jr., and Bryse Wilson are all now on the 40-man roster.

Pirates Place JT Brubaker, Duane Underwood Jr. On Injured List

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The Pirates announced a handful of roster moves today, placing right-handed pitchers JT Brubaker and Duane Underwood Jr. on the injured list, both with right shoulder inflammation. A couple of fellow righties, Kyle Keller and Shea Spitzbarth, are taking their place.

Brubaker has been one of the more reliable members of a Pirates club that is enduring a dismal season. His 124 1/3 innings lead the club by a significant margin, with Tyler Anderson and Wil Crowe being the only other Pirates with more than 80. Anderson, of course, isn’t even with the club anymore after being dealt to the Mariners before the trade deadline. Brubaker’s ERA isn’t great at 5.36, though his 24% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate are both slightly better than league average. He had just been activated off the injured list yesterday, after missing some time with a thumb contusion, but left his start after three innings.

Similarly, Underwood has been a solid-yet-unspectacular contributor out of the bullpen, throwing 72 2/3 innings with an ERA of 4.33. His 20.3% strikeout rate is a bit below average, though his 8.4% walk rate is slightly better than the league-wide rate of 8.7%.

With the club well out of contention, they can prioritize long-term health over short-term competitiveness at this stage of the season. Both Brubaker and Underwood are 27 years old and won’t yet be arbitration eligible by season’s end.

Pirates Place Chad Kuhl On Covid List, Select Shea Spitzbarth

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The Pirates announced Monday that they’ve placed righty Chad Kuhl on the Covid-19-related injured list and selected the contract of right-hander Shea Spitzbarth in a corresponding move.

Kuhl, 28, tested positive for Covid-19, per the Pirates, so he’ll be sidelined a minimum of 10 days under this year’s health and safety protocols. The right-hander has been a serviceable back-end starter for the Bucs, pitching to a 4.43 ERA in 67 innings this year. However, he’s also averaged fewer than five innings per outing while posting sub-par strikeout and walk percentages (20.1 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively).

The 26-year-old Spitzbarth will make his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game with the Pirates. He’d spent his entire pro career with the Dodgers prior to the 2021 season, having joined the organization as a nondrafted free agent back in 2015. Generally speaking, he’s struggled in the upper minors — at least until the 2021 season. This year, Spitzbarth has pitched to a 1.41 ERA through 32 innings of relief work. Other metrics aren’t as bullish, as evidenced by a 4.42 FIP and 5.09 xFIP. Spitzbarth has benefited from a .202 average on balls in play and a 90.9 percent strand rate so far in Triple-A. Nevertheless, he’ll get his first look in the big leagues more than six years after first signing.

Also of note, manager Derek Shelton revealed to reporters that left-hander Steven Brault is expected to start tomorrow’s game for the Pirates (Twitter link via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The 29-year-old Brault hasn’t pitched yet in 2021 owing to a forearm strain suffered late in Spring Training. At the time, it was announced that he’d be shut down at least a month and could miss as much as 12 weeks with the injury, but the timetable proved even lengthier than that.

Brault has spent the past several weeks on a minor league rehab assignment, pitching a total of 12 innings between Class-A and Triple-A as he’s begun to build up for a return to the Pirates. He’s tossed four innings in each of his past two outings, totaling 58 and 56 pitches in that pair of starts (and allowing just one earned run). He’s unlikely to jump from that point to 90-100 pitches in a single outing, but he could give the Pirates four or five innings if he’s reasonably efficient tomorrow.

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