Who The Pirates Could Add For Veteran Starting Pitcher Help
So far this off-season, General Manager Ben Cherington has fully committed to rebuilding the Pirates and turning them into a winner by the 2023 season. In order to do this, he has had to trade some of the Pirate's core pieces in Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove, and Jameson Taillon. Cherington has done a nice job in those deals, flipping three players for a total of 14 prospects, 11 of those landing in the Pirates' top prospects list. However, the trades have left a hole at the Major League level as the Pirates still try and compete day in and day out. Cherington has said that their focus has flipped and they have some "Oars in the Water" to add veteran starting pitchers through free agency or trades. As the rotation currently sits, there is only one pitcher who has made more than 30 starts in a year, and the rest are looking to prove themselves.
The only pitcher who is proven to be able to handle a full starting pitcher's workload is Chad Kuhl, who is coming off of Tommy John Surgery in 2019. Behind him, you have former top prospect Mitch Keller, who made five starts last season and has injury issues of his own, and Steven Brault as the other two locks. Battling for the final two spots in the rotation will be a combination of JT Brubaker, Cody Ponce, Wil Crowe, and Miguel Yajure (none of which has pitched a full season). As you can see, the Pirates could benefit from a starting pitcher or two and there are several guys available on the market. The Pirates could swoop in and sign one for cheap and then flip him for prospects at the deadline, further helping their rebuild. Today, we look at who is still available on the market to help the Pirate's young guns develop during the 2021 season.
RHP Chris Archer
We start our list of available starting pitchers with a familiar name in Pittsburgh, Chris Archer. He came to the Pirates in the trade that ended Neil Huntington's tenure in 2018, and he never really performed up to expectations. He was owed 11 million dollars this season, and the Pirates couldn't afford that so they ended up releasing him. However, a reunion at a much cheaper price could benefit both Archer and the Pirates in the long run. Archer did not pitch at all in 2020 after undergoing neck surgery during the pandemic shutdown. It is unclear where Archer is in the recovery process, but the Pirates could offer a place for him to bounce back.
2019 did not go the way that Archer wanted as he went just 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA, missing time because of an injury. The home run ball was what plagued him the most as he gave up a team-high 25 home runs throughout the season. Entering his age 32 season, Archer still has some value and looks to show off that value to contending teams. While the Pirates won't be one of those contending teams, they can offer Archer a platform to show off his skills and show that he can still be a good pitcher. If the Pirates could bring him back on a one-year, three to four million dollar deal, he could provide value to the starting rotation and be a candidate to be flipped at the trade deadline.
RHP Jake Arietta
If I would have dropped this name a couple of years ago as a potential Pirates free-agent target, people would have thought I was crazy. However, at 35-years-old, Jake Arietta is coming off of a couple of rough seasons and doesn't have a home. He pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies in each of the last three seasons and has combined to go 22-23 with a 4.36 ERA. 2020 was his worst year on the hill yet as he went just 4-4 with a 5.08 ERA in 44.1 innings of work. Arietta's strikeout rate has sat consistently around the 15-20% rate throughout his career, but it has been his wildness that has gotten to him. He walked 16 batters in 44.1 innings of work last season, raising his walk rate to 8.4 percent.
His sinker and his fastball both still average in the low 90s, and although he isn't as overpowering as he once was, he can still be an effective Big Leaguer. He has always been a groundball pitcher, but last year was his biggest split yet. He started using the sinker more and ended up with a groundball percentage of 51.2%. With defense being a priority for the Pirates, these ground balls would play well in PNC Park, especially against left-handed power bats. The name Jake Arietta might not strike fear in opponents the way it once did, but if he shows he has something left in the tank, the Pirates could cash in with a big prospect haul at the Trade Deadline.
LHP Brett Anderson
One available veteran starting pitcher that the Pirates got a good look at last year is left-handed started Brett Anderson. After spending seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics, Anderson joined the Milwaukee Brewer's starting rotation last season. He had a decent year, making 10 starts for the Brewers and going 4-4 with a 4.21 ERA over 47 innings of work. He had almost pinpoint control with a walk rate of 4.7% while striking out a healthy 32 batters during the year. Anderson is your classic pitch-to-contact type pitcher, but he generates a lot of soft contact. Opponents only barrelled the ball up against him 6.4% of the time last season letting the defense play.
The Pirates only have three left-handed pitchers on their roster, and they would surely welcome another southpaw. As of now, the rotation only has Steven Brault while the bullpen has Austin Davis and Sam Howard. Anderson would give the Pirates another lefty option to throw into the rotation to balance out the ratio of righties to lefties. Being that he has been in the league for 13 seasons, he brings with him his share of ups and downs that he could pass on to the younger pitchers. He has been a consistent middle of the rotation guy throughout his career and could bring back a nice prospect or two in a deadline deal with a team that is on the verge of competing.
LHP Gio Gonzalez
A final inexpensive left-handed option for the Pirates would be former Washington National Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez pitched for the Chicago White Sox last season and ended up going 1-2 with a 4.83 ERA in more of a relief role. He appeared in 12 games for the White Sox and ended up making four starts at the end of the season. Gonzalez still shows an ability to consistently strikeout hitters, with 34 in just over 32 innings of work while walking 19 batters. He was once a mainstay in the Nationals and Oakland Athletics rotation, but now he is trying to find a full-time home once again.
Gonzalez would come in and find a home at the top of the Pirates starting rotation behind Mitch Keller. Gonzalez doesn't have overpowering stuff, with his fastball topping out around 90 miles per hour, but he holds opponents to soft contact. He had a hard-hit percentage of 33% in 2020 and worked well in a long-relief role. As Gonzalez turns 35, he is looking for a shot at a ring and the Pirates could do that for him by flipping him to a contending team at the deadline. This would give him incentive to perform well in Pittsburgh and would give Pittsburgh a chance to add prospects. Whoever the Pirates do add, it will be a match that hopefully helps the team both in the short term and in the long term.
Comments
Post a Comment