Jordan Lyles to compete for Pittsburgh Pirates starting spot

Jordan Lyles will have a fighters shot at securing the fifth spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation.

One of the few moves the Pittsburgh Pirates made during the Winter Meetings was bringing in Jordan Lyles to what we thought was to beef up the bullpen depth that the Pirates lost due to injuries. However, Pirate General Manager Neal Huntington came out and said that Lyles will have a shot to win a spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation.

The question that arises is would Lyles be a better as a reliever or starter? Lyles has pitched in both roles. He has started in 115 of 217 appearances in his eight-year career. This leaves 102 appearances that Lyles came in as a reliever.

As a starter, Lyles had an ERA top off as high as 9.39 when he was with the Rockies in a hitter friendly park in Coors Field. Last year, when Lyles split the year between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers, he recorded his second lowest ERA in a season as a starter at 4.79. His best recorded ERA as a starter was recorded in 2014 when he was with the Rockies.

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Lyles has been warm and cold being a starter with six out of the eight years he was a starter recording and ERA over five. Opponents average against has also been an issue for Lyles as a starter recording a career .279 average against.

Lyles was used as a reliever after being traded to the Brewers for the playoff push last season. He pitched 40.2 innings as a reliever last season and recorded a 3.32 ERA while striking out 106 and walking 49. Opponents batted just .200 against Lyles in his reliever position.

With a rotation of Chris Archer, Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams and to be determined for the fifth spot, the Pirates can do better than Lyles as their fifth starter. The numbers are just not there to support this notion. Ray Searage has worked miracles before with players such as Edinson Volquez and J.A. Happ. If Lyles does become the fifth starter and turns Lyles into a respectable starter, put him into the hall of fame.

Lyles should be right there with Steven Brault as a long reliever and someone that can make a spot start if needed. He does not belong in the starting rotation. The numbers just aren’t there.

With that being said, the Pirates should not be done bringing in people to compete for the final rotation spot. Look for the organization bring in a couple low risk players to compete with Lyles throughout spring training in order to see who gets the final rotation spot.