What the Release of Trevor Williams and Jose Osuna Means for the Pirates
Heading into the off-season, the Pirates front office staff knew there were a lot of moves to be made. No one on the roster was safe as anyone could be moved with Ben Cherrington and his staff looked to rebuild the Pirates into a playoff-caliber team. Cherrington and his staff made their first big move involving key players from 2020 yesterday when he designated right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams and utility guy Jose Osuna for assignment. Both players now hit free agency and can go on to explore other options. For the Pirates, it sends a clear message that the baseball operations staff is focused on the future and letting the young guys grow and develop at the Major League level.
The move doesn't come as much of a surprise as neither player was expected to make a big impact next season. Both players would have had to be offered a contract before the December 2nd Non-Tender deadline. Rather than paying them and trying to get something out of the two players, Cherrington and his staff decided to cut their losses. What it means for the current roster is there are two more spots open for young guys to earn a spot on the Big League roster. There is one less pitcher competing for a starting rotation spot, and the path for guys like Will Craig just had one less hurdle put in front of them. We look at both of the DFA'd players and how the Pirates will look to fill the hole that they leave on the roster.
RHP Trevor Williams
Probably the more expected of the two players released was right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams. After the high that he had in the second half of 2018, where he led baseball with a 1.32 ERA in the second half of the season, Williams hasn't been able to rekindle that success. Last season, he led Major League Baseball in losses going 2-8 with a 6.18 ERA. He was one of the only pitchers that stayed healthy the entire season for the Pirates, but he just wasn't very effective in those starts. Of his 11 starts, only one of them was a quality start and he allowed three or more earned runs six times in those 11 starts. He had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark as he allowed 15 home runs in his 55.1 innings of work.
A few teams showed interest in Williams at the 2020 Trade Deadline, but no deal fell through and Williams would instead play out the season with Pittsburgh. His final start of the year was his best as he lasted 5.2 innings of work giving up one earned run against the Chicago Cubs. Little did he know that that would be his final start in a Pirates uniform. Williams's departure leaves one less starting pitcher fighting for a spot in Spring Training next season, and almost guarantees JT Brubaker a spot in the rotation. As the roster currently sits, the locks for the rotation would be Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, Mitch Keller, and Steven Brault. Now that Williams has been released, Brubaker can slide in as that number five starter instead of fighting Williams for it.
With the departure of Williams, three of Pittsburgh's five starters will be 28 years old or younger, ushering in a youth movement in the starting rotation. It also opens up another spot for a guy like Cody Ponce to win a long-relief role for the Pirates as opposed to being sent back down to Triple-A. Williams was not part of the team's long-term plans and because he wasn't garnering any interest from other teams, he was just taking up space on the roster. Now, the Pirates can officially say they are starting their rebuild as their rotation continues to get younger and that young talent that is in the Pirates Minor Leagues can start to make its presence felt at PNC Park.
Utility Jose Osuna
The move that came as more of a surprise to me was the designation of Jose Osuna for assignment. Osuna had played parts of the last four seasons in Pittsburgh and developed into one of the best pinch hitters in Major League baseball. Last season, he started off strong but ended up falling flat hitting .205 with four home runs and 11 RBI. When the Designated Hitter was first implemented into the National League, Osuna split time between first base and designated hitter getting himself into the lineup. However, with the emergence of guys like Phillip Evans, Colin Moran, and Ke'Bryan Hayes, Osuna was pushed to the background and was up and down between the satellite camp and the Major Leagues.
That seems to be the mantra for Osuna's career in Pittsburgh as he was always blocked by someone else. When he initially came up, he was a right fielder blocked by Gregory Polanco. Then, he moved to first base where Josh Bell emerged, and finally to third base where Ke'Bryan Hayes passed him up. So, he took on a new role in 2019 serving as the team's top pinch hitter and one of the best in the MLB. He had a great start to 2019 in that role, hitting .321 with five home runs and 13 RBI before the all-star break. When the season was over, he finished leading Major League baseball with nine pinch hit home runs. It looked as though he was primed for a more dominant role in 2020, but it wasn't meant to be.
With Osuna gone, it only opens the door for a guy like Will Craig and Erik Gonzalez to get some more playing time. With one less back-up infielder available, guys like Gonzalez and Craig are going to be more important as they give guys their necessary days off. It also leaves a spot on the 40-man roster for a Minor League utility guy named Hunter Owen. Owen has played seven of the nine positions on the field and could use the release of Osuna as a chance to crack the Major League roster. Utility men have had a history of success for the Pirates, just look at Josh Harrison and Adam Frazier, and Owen looks to be the next in line of utility story successes.
The Pirates still have many moves to make this off-season as these are just the first Major pebbles to fall. Come April 1st, 2021, I feel that the Pirates roster will look a lot different than the current roster. We will see an influx of young talent as the Pirates try to establish a core of young players to build around for the future. We will follow Ben Cherrington and all of his staff's moves and keep you up to date as we get ready to Raise the Jolly Roger in 2021.
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