Pittsburgh Pirates Agree To Terms With Outfielder Guillermo Heredia
The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed a former Mariners and Rays outfielder to further bolster their outfield depth
According to a recent tweet by Francys Romero, the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to sign outfielder Guillermo Heredia. The deal is most likely a minor league deal, but it is not confirmed yet. One interesting fact about this signing is that Guillermo will be the first Cuban-born Pirate to play in their organization.
Last season, Heredia spent the year as one of the Tampa Bay Rays 4th outfielders. He batted for a line of just .225/.306/.363, hitting 5 home runs, and finishing with a 79 OPS+/82 wRC+ in 231 plate appearances.
The light hitting outfielder had struggled with the bat in seasons prior with the bat during his tenure with the Seattle Mariners between 2016 to 2018. He batted a combined .244/.321/.336 with an 83 OPS+ during his time in Seattle. Career wise, the right hander has a 1.9 bWAR/.4 fWAR.
Heredia does do well with the glove in the corner outfield. In 907 innings in left field, the 28-year-old has recorded +6 DRS, and a 2.0 UZR. In right, he has put up a +8 DRS with a 4.3 UZR. However he has struggled in centerfield having both a negative DRS (-13), and UZR (-14.5) at the position. Last season, Heredia put up +5 DRS in right field, +1 in left field, but -3 in center. Overall, he was worth 0.3 defensive WAR.
Heredia could also serve as a pinch runner for the Bucs. Last season, he was clocked at 28.2 feet/second on the basepaths. That is faster than the likes of Carlos Gomez, Kevin Pillar, Mookie Betts, and Ketel Marte.
Guillermo probably won’t play a large role for the 2020 Pirates. He’ll likely only serve as outfield depth for the team. However, considering the number of injuries the team had last year, they need all the depth they can possibly get. None of the Bucs’ outfielders reached 140 games played. Last season, Gregory Polanco only played 42 games, while Starling Marte missed most of September due to injury. In the event of a Marte trade, the Pirates outfield depth will be even more strained than it is now.