Pirates Select Contract of Robbie Erlin and John Ryan Murphy
The abbreviated 2020 MLB season is just around the corner, with the Pittsburgh Pirates opening their slate of games on Friday. Manager Derek Shelton and his coaching staff have to cut their roster to 30 by the trip to St. Louis. That roster started taking shape when the Pirates added left-handed pitcher Robbie Erlin and catcher John Ryan Murphy to the 40-man roster. Both players provide veteran leadership to their side of the ball and can help the young players develop during this sprint of a season. Both Erlin and Murphy have been around the league and hope to bring that veteran leadership to the Pirates clubhouse.
LHP: Robbie Erlin
Robbie Erlin is a six-year MLB veteran, pitching all six of those seasons with the San Diego Padres. He has had some good showings throughout his professional career but has never had that breakout season that you look for in a reliever. He has appeared in 106 games and has a career 4.57 ERA working as both a starter and a reliever. For the majority of his professional career, he has put in his work as a starting pitcher. It wasn't until last season that he moved to a more permanent role in the bullpen, appearing in 37 games and making just one start. He got tattooed during the month of April, pitching to a 4.82 ERA and never really recovered the rest of the season.
His best months came in May and July where he posted an ERA under 4.50 in both of those months. After a rough April, Erlin came back strong allowing just two earned runs over his next six appearances. He never allowed more than two runs in any of his outings and dropped his ERA from 3.97 to 3.44 by the end of the stretch. Erlin was used mostly as a lefty specialist, pitching 0.1 to 0.2 innings at a time, so it was hard for him to drop his ERA quickly. He went through another rough stretch in June, where he posted a 9.82 ERA and he was forced to try and bounce back once again.
He did just that in July allowing only three earned runs over his five appearances during the month. He ended up striking out 10 batters over nine innings of work while walking just three. Erlin has good stuff and is looking to get his career back on track in Pittsburgh. I will be the first to admit, I did not have Erlin in my Opening Day bullpen prediction, but it is nice to see the Pirates add another left-handed option to the mix. It will allow Shelton to play the match-ups more and will provide some depth to a bullpen that has struggled through the first two exhibition games. Whether or not Erlin can turn it around or not is yet to be seen, but the veteran leadership should be a boost to the middle part of the Pirates bullpen.
Catcher: John Ryan Murphy
Catcher John Ryan Murphy has been around the block and knows what it means to serve as a team's back-up catcher. That is the role he has held his entire time in the Major Leagues spanning seven seasons and four teams. He may not be known for his offense, with a career .219 average, 18 home runs, and 59 RBI, but he is one of the better defensive catchers in the league. He has had two errorless seasons behind the plate, in 2013 and 2017, and has a career fielding percentage of .993 at the position. He has played for both winning teams and bad teams and knows how to handle the ups and downs of a Major League season.
His best year came in 2015 when he served as a back-up catcher for the New York Yankees. He appeared in 32 games that season and hit .277 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 67 games played. That season is still his personal record for games played, and he won't come near that mark with the 60 game season this year. During that season, he showed not only the ability to hit the ball consistently but to find the gaps as well. He picked up 13 total extra-base hits that season, including nine doubles as a part-time player. As a right-handed bat, he can use the big left field at PNC Park to his advantage and provide Jacob Stallings with some much needed days off.
Defensively, Murphy has a chance at being one of the best back-up catchers in baseball. In 19 games played last season, Murphy allowed just three stolen bases and had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. He is a very good pitch framer and is great at blocking pitches in the dirt with no passed balls allowed all season. He can also help work with Stallings as he develops into a young starting catcher. The experience would help both men as Stallings can develop into a full-time starter while Murphy gets some more playing time behind the plate.
The Pittsburgh Pirates play their final exhibition game tonight against the Cleveland Indians at 5:05 pm. Derek Holland will get the start in his final tune-up of Summer Camp opposing Aaron Civale for the Indians at PNC Park.
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