Chris Resop Finds A Home With Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have talent on the roster.  One of those talented players is right handed pitcher Chris Resop.  You might have

forgot just how impressive some of the work he did, especially at the end of last season.

The Bucs made a lot of headlines for grabbing James McDonald and Andrew Lambo in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  After the trades of Javier Lopez and D.J. Carassco, the Pirates were in serious need for middle relief help.

On August 4 GM Neal Huntington and company fixed that problem by heading to the waiver wire where they grabbed Chan Ho Park and Chris Resop.  Everyone knew who Park was, but Resop was the pitcher that opened some eyes within the Pirates organization.

In an excellent article written by Dana Caldwell and linked at the bottom of this post, Resop discussed in greater detail his role with the Pirates.

"“I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to stay sharp and stay mechanically sound, and that’s kind of the role I’ve been in so far in my career. I haven’t had a definitive role where I know what my situation is and what I’m required to do going into games.”–Chris Resop"

The Pirates put Resop to work immediately as he appeared in seven of the first eleven games.  If his work at the end of the season was an indication of how effective he can be, the Pirates found a gem.

"“Right now, they’re looking at me as a late-inning reliever.  They said obviously we’ll see how the offseason goes, how the free-agent market goes, and if needed, they may look at me to start.” –Chris Resop"

It’s the first we heard about Resop possibly being a starter in 2011.  But as Caldwell writes, Resop did have success in that role for the Braves organization.  At AAA Gwinnett, Resop made his first professional starts, going 6-3 with a 2.09 ERA striking out 91 and issuing just 32 free passes.

On June 11, just four days before the Braves were forced to make a decision thanks to his unique contract (great story linked below,) Resop went nine innings and allowed just one hit, that baserunner was quickly doubled up on the next batter.  His line of nine innings, one hit, no walks, eight strikeouts was just about enough to allow the Braves to get a player for Resop.

Thankfully, the market for a player that was drafted as an outfielder and transformed into a pitcher didn’t amount to much and the Pirates were waiting on the waiver line.

Follow us on Twitter

P.S.  One thing to remember this offseason–with the performance Resop had last season, he is a strong contender for an expanded role should Evan Meek be traded.

Clipped from: www.naplesnews.com (share this clip)

Clipped from: www.fangraphs.com (share this clip)