Pittsburgh Pirates: 3 Potential Left-Handed Relief Targets

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Pittsburgh Pirates Target Loup
(Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

Aaron Loup

Aaron Loup
Age 30
Controlled through 2018
Money Left $604,166.67
Year Innings ERA K% BB% GB%
Last Three Years 104.1 4.23 24.4% 9.4% 49.8%
2018 32.3 4.73 25.0% 7.9% 48.0%
Rest of Season Projection 18.0 3.66 24.0% 9.3%

Aaron Loup, while his ERA is a high both this year and over the last three years, would be a buy cheap option that would be an improvement.  Loup has a 3.67 FIP over the last three years and a 3.41 FIP this year, his ERA estimators showing he should have been better.  STEAMER projects a 3.66 ERA, making Loup an even more intriguing buy-low option.

Loup gets groundballs at a high clip, near half his batted balls are on the ground, an area the Pirates target.  Combine a 25 percent strikeout rate with that many groundballs and the Pirates certainly can get an undervalued reliever.

Though the Pirates don’t believe in left-handed only relievers, that’s what Loup is.  The southpaw has a .310 wOBA against lefties this year compared to a .404 against righties.  Over the last three years, it’s a .320 compared to a .347.

Loup isn’t a splashy name, nor is he the best option listed, but he is a rental that won’t cost anything in terms of prospects.  For a team that still has a lot of work to be done for the playoffs, Loup would prevent an upgrade with no cost, as this will be the third straight year Neal Huntington has straddled the buyer/seller line at the trade deadline.