Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Offseason DFA Candidates

Aug 31, 2020; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Tyler Bashlor (67) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 31, 2020; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Tyler Bashlor (67) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 19, 2020; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Tyler Bashlor (67) pitches against the Cleveland Indians during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Indians won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 19, 2020; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Tyler Bashlor (67) pitches against the Cleveland Indians during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Indians won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Tyler Bashlor

On August 2, 2020, the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Bashlor from the New York Mets. In exchange for Bashlor, the Pirates sent cash considerations to the Mets.

With the Mets, Bashlor always had plus stuff put could never put it all together. This was largely due to control issues. With the Pirates, these same problems continued to plague Bashlor during the 2020 season.

Bashlor pitched 8.1 innings with the Pirates. Despite possessing a fastball that sat in the 85th percentile of baseball in velocity and the 97th percentile in spin rate, Bashlor 8.64 ERA, 7/03 FIP anda 5.54 DRA.

Contorl remained a major issue as Bashlor walked 10.5% of batters faced. He also allowed two home runs. While this may not sound like much, in just 8.1 innings of work that comes out to a 2.65 HR/9.

While Bashlor possesses a power fastball and an intriguing slider, the control and results have never been there for him in his MLB career. It would not be a surprise to see the Pirates DFA him at some point this offseason.