Pirates Christmas Wish List: Bullpen Help
One of the most important parts of any competitive team is the bullpen that they build. The starting pitchers can't go forever in this day and age, and when they tire they need a strong back-up to hold down the fort. For the Pirates, their bullpen was not able to hold a lead in 2020 and blew several games throughout the season. As the team gets ready for 2021, many of the same characters from last season are back in the bullpen mix. With Richard Rodriguez being the only real lock for 2021, there are six other openings for the bullpen as Derek Shelton and Been Cherrington try to get the team back on track.
There are plenty of free-agent veteran pitchers available on the open market who could come in and help lead this young group of pitchers. However, the Pirates could also go the younger route and use their up and coming talent to fill those roles. Guys like Matt Eckelman and Can Vieaux could make the jump and help the bullpen now while getting their feet wet in the Major Leagues. Whichever way the Pirates decide to go, their bullpen has to do better than their 4.20 team ERA in 2020. Today, we look at all the options and see how the Pirates will try and rebound one of their worst position groups on the field in 2021.
Free Agent Relievers
As we stated before, the free-agent market is full of veteran pitchers and relievers that could step in and help the Pirates right now. The average age of those free-agent pitchers is about 32 years old, which would allow them to come in and give experience to some of the Pirate's younger pitchers. Guys like Tony Watson, Sean Doolittle, and Brad Boxenberger are just some of the veteran arms on the free-agent market that might come at a cost the Pirates can afford. With other teams so focused on some of the game's top prospects, this could be a time for the Pirates to swoop in and sign one of these wily veterans to assist the current club.
There are a few former Pirates on the free-agent list, and all of them could come in and help the team that gave them their start. The cheapest of the options would be right-hander Jared Hughes, who pitched for the New York Mets last season. Hughes appeared in 18 games last season and went 1-2 with a 4.84 ERA for the Mets. A sinkerballer during his time with the Pirates, Hughes had a career-high strikeout rate of 19.2%. The youngest of the three pitchers is Justin Wilson, who also pitched for the Mets and went 2-1 with a 3.36 ERA in 22 games last season. The oldest and most expensive of the options is Tony Watson, who put up the best numbers of the three, pitched for the San Francisco Giants and went 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA.
All three of these options are familiar with the Pirates system and could help the new generation of Pirates pitchers. Even if they signed for a one or two year deal, they could help set the foundation for another playoff team like the one they were on in the early 2010s. However, there are other options available who may be past their prime but can bring experience with them. A guy like Sean Doolittle has playoff experience and knows what it takes to win games. Doolittle pitched in 11 games with the Washington Nationals last season and went 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA. A move like this would bring experience to the team, in the hopes of him turning things around.
Young Pitchers On The Rise
If the Pirates decide not to go outside of the organization for help, there are plenty of options inside the organization who could make an impact as well. The 2020 season was a weird one for Minor Leaguers across the league as they missed out on live at-bats. Guys like Matt Eckelman, Beau Susler, and Can Vieaux all missed out on a year of experience. All three will be in Triple-A Indianapolis in 2021, giving the Indians a strong bullpen. This will give the Pirates plenty of options to call on if the situation comes where someone gets injured or becomes ineffective.
Matt Eckelman is the most likely of the pitchers to be called upon in 2021, after serving as the closer for the Altoona Curve in 2019. He finished the year going 1-5 with a 3.33 ERA while concerning 23 of his 24 save opportunities. In 48.2 innings of work, Eckelman showed a great strikeout rate of 21.9% but walked just over 12% of the batters he faced. The concern with Eckelman is his performance in Triple-A at the end of 2019. He appeared in three games for the Indians and had a 15.43 ERA in 2.1 innings of work. He gave up 10 hits during that span but struck out two batters in those 2.1 innings of work.
Vieaux split his time between Triple-A and Double-A in 2019 and, even though he was a starter, he could be used in long-relief work. He made 13 starts for Triple-A that season and went 4-2 with a 5.05 ERA spanning 62.1 innings of work. He would be joining guys like Hunter Stratton in the front of the Pirates bullpen to eat up innings that the starters aren't able to pitch. Beau Susler is another wild card who could be used in middle relief or as a starter if the need arose. Susler had the most success out of the three pitchers in 2019, appearing in 33 games, six starts for Altoona, and went 8-3 with a 2.72 ERA. The Pirates bullpen has to be better in 2021, and with additions made both inside and outside the organization, they can do just that and check off the final item on the Pittsburgh Pirates Christmas Wish List.
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