Four Low Risk, High Reward Pitchers the Pittsburgh Pirates Should Consider

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SAN DIEGO, CA – MAY 18: Montana DuRapau #64 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park May 18, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

The Pittsburgh Pirates could still be open to adding more pitching depth. These four options are still sitting on the market.

Last season, one of the biggest problems the Pittsburgh Pirates faced was a lack of pitching depth. This really hurt them considering the countless injuries in the rotation and the bullpen. Pitchers such as Montana DuRapau, Dario Agrazal, and Geoff Hartlieb wound up seeing more MLB team than the Pirates ever could have imagined. DuRapau and Agrazal, who were designated for assignment during the off-season, were put into regular roles at some point during 2019. The fact they received a DFA ticket shows what the organization thinks of them.

The Pirates cannot run into this situation again, and have made a decent amount of strides to add to the depth. We have seen them add Robbie Erlin and Derek Holland to minor league deals, but they need to pursue more deals like this. These four pitchers are ones that were pretty good not-so-long ago, and, if the Pirates are out of contention, could be useful trade bait come deadline times. These four pitchers include both a mix of bullpen options, as well as starting pitcher options. Four

PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 13: Pat Neshek #93 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park on May 13, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-4. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

Reliever Pat Neshek

Yes, Pat Neshek was pretty ineffective last year. He had an ERA above 5 and FIP above 6. But he pitched in an injury limited 18 innings, and still walked just 1 batter per 9 innings pitched when he did pitch, and generated ground balls at a 41.8% rate (his career average is 33.9%). Plus, he isn’t far removed from being one of the Phillies better pitchers out of the pen. Between 2014 and 2018, Neshek owned a 2.46 ERA, 2.94 FIP, and .939 WHIP. His ERA and FIP ranked in the top 15 of all relief pitchers in this time frame (min. 250 innings). His 5.72 K/BB ratio was one of the best in the MLB. Only Dodgers’ All-Star Kenley Jansen passed him at 7.68.

The submarie pitcher doesn’t rely on velocity. His fastest pitch is his sinker, which sat at 88.9 MPH last season. His career average is 90.4 MPH, which if healthy, he could get back into the 90’s range. Plus his slider, cutter, and change-up still had decent movement on them. With a lack of late inning depth behind current closer Keone Kela, taking a low risk one year deal on Neshek could result in being able to bring a player with potential and upside back at the deadline.

While it is a different front office, Neshek is also a pitcher the Pirates have been tied to in the past. At the 2014 Winter Meetings the Pirates were, according to reports, ‘seconds away’ from a deal with Neshek before the Houston Astros swooped in and offered a second year.

TORONTO, ON – JULY 23: Aaron Sanchez #41 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning during a MLB game against the Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre on July 23, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Swing man Aaron Sanchez

Aaron Sanchez started off his career with three straight solid seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, including an All-Star game appearance in 2016 and leading the American League in ERA that same season. Overall, he posted a strong 2.86 ERA, with a solid 3.78 FIP, and 1.155 WHIP in 317 innings.

Although he didn’t generate many strikeouts (7.1 K/9), his lowest single season ground ball ratewas 54.4% in 2016. That still ranked fifth in the Majors. However, multiple injuries have derailed a once promising career. Last season, Sanchez limped to a 5.89 ERA, 5.25 FIP, and 1.62 WHIP. He only pitched in 272.1 innings, and 55 total games.

However, Sanchez is still just 27 years old. He also struck out a career high 7.9 batters per 9 last season, and generated ground balls at a healthy 46.9% rate, which was still 4% above league average. A move to the bullpen could be in Sanchez’s future. In the pen, Sanchez wouldn’t have to pitch as many innings, preserving his arm and lessening the risk of future injury. Plus, in his career, Sanchez has a 1.67 ERA, and an opponent OPS of .412 when he does come out of the pen. In comparison, he has a 4.24 ERA, and a .735 opponent OPS when he starts games.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MAY 14: Luke Gregerson #44 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves on May 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Reliever Luke Gregerson

Veteran reliever Luke Gregerson is coming off of three straight disappointing seasons. In 2017, he pitched to a 4.57 ERA/4.62 FIP, and 1.34 WHIP with the Astros. This was his last season in Houston. After 2017, he left to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals. His first season in St. Louis was dreadful. He gave up 10 earned runs in an extremely small 12.2 innings sample size. He missed a majority of the season because of injury. 2019 wasn’t much different. He gave up 5 earned runs in 5.2 innings, but only two of the 11 base hits he gave up were for extra bases. He also walked just one batter.

But he was extremely consistent and effective before 2017. From 2009 to 2016, Gregerson pitched to a 2.84 ERA, 2.98 FIP, and 1.05 WHIP. The right hander struck out 9.0 batters per 9, while just walking 2.5 per 9. He ranked eighth in relief pitcher fWAR (8.9), while also averaging 67 innings a season.

Now, yes, Gregerson’s pitch velocity has severely dropped the last two seasons. Last year, his fastball velocity sat at just 86.7 MPH. However, some of the loss could be accounted to his injuries. He probably isn’t going to attract much attention, so at most, the Pirates could get him on a minor league deal.

TORONTO, ON – AUGUST 30: Collin McHugh #31 of the Houston Astros delivers a pitch in the fourth inning during a MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on August 30, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Swing man Collin McHugh

Somehow, former Astros’ stalwart pitcher Collin McHugh, is still on the free agent market. He did have a weak 2019 on paper. He had a 4.70 ERA, 4.43 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP through 74.2 innings. His walk rate jumped an entire walk from 2018 to 2019 and he gave up 12 home runs, resulting in a 1.4 HR/9.

But much of his struggles came from his first eight games when he was a starter. McHugh missed some time in June, but when he returned, he looked like a top-tier ace relief pitcher. Through his final 30 innings of 2019, he gave up just nine earned runs, three home runs, while striking out 34 batters and walking just 14.

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Plus, you can’t forget about his amazing 2018 numbers. Primarily serving as a multi-inning relief pitcher, the right hander pitched 72 innings in 58 games. He carried a sub-2 ERA (1.99), 2.72 FIP, and 0.91 WHIP. He had a 1.4 fWAR, which was higher than Red Sox ace relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (1.3). His 4.48 K/BB ratio was also top 30 in the MLB. Overall, his peripherals looked like this: 11.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, .75 HR/9, and 5.6 hits/9.

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