Pittsburgh Pirates: Bullpen Potential For 2021

The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen was among the worst in the league two years ago, ranking among the bottom ten teams in ERA and FIP. This past year, however, the bullpen pitched much better despite numerous injuries. Is there potential there for 2021?

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a bad year all around in 2020. Finishing with a record of 19-41, the team never had the chance to see the playoffs this season, even with an expansion in teams. It was not fun to watch, but there was a bright spot about this Pirate team: the bullpen.

During the 2019 season the bullpen ended in disaster. Besides in-fighting and scandals, they just didn’t pitch well and led to a terrible second half for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a second-half which led to the dismissal of general manager Neal Huntington, manager Clint Hurdle and pitching coach Ray Searage. In 2020, those arms fell under the leadership of Ben Cherington, Derek Shelton and Oscar Marin.

In 2020, those arms were better.

Richard Rodriguez put up solid numbers this season, bouncing back from an up-and-down season in 2019. He posted a 2.85 FIP to go with a 2.70 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 23.1 innings, including 4 saves. He is heading into his first year of arbitration at thirty-one years old. Whether the Pittsburgh Pirates trade him this offseason, or any time next year, or they decide to keep him, Rodriguez surely adds value to a meager roster.

Behind Rodriquez was Chris Stratton who has consistently pitched well since joining the Pittsburgh Pirates a season ago. He also improved this season, bringing his FIP down from a 4.11 in 46.2 innings with the Pirates, to just 3.19 in 30 innings this season. Also, his strikeout rate ticked up 9.7% to 29.8% this season.

Now it goes without saying that Stratton and Rodriguez are also big trade pieces this offseason if Cherington decides to pull the trigger. Both, however, are in their first years of arbitration and so the Pittsburgh Pirates have another couple seasons of control on the pair. Whatever happens, Stratton and Rodriguez will have some part to building the team of 2021.

Behind Rodriguez and Stratton were two pitchers who had surprisingly quality seasons: right-handed Geoff Hartlieb and left-handed Sam Howard. Hartlieb, of course, was part of that awful Pirate bullpen in 2019, posting a 9+ ERA and a 5.56 FIP in 35 innings pitched. Howard, who pitched for the Colorado Rockies, wasn’t much better with a 6.63 ERA and a 6.27 FIP in 19 innings pitched.

This season Hartlieb looked better, posting a 3.63 ERA in 22.1 innings pitched. However, his FIP only improved to 5.03 as walks plagued his season. Despite that, Hartlieb was able to limit runs and keep the ball in the park, a big step for the soon-to-be 27-year-old.

Howard, on the other hand, performed much better in comparison. He kept his walks to just 10% of the batters he faced, while improving his strikeout rate to 30% for the season. If Howard can keep the ball in the park more often he can become a quality reliever for the Pittsburgh Pirates next season.

Another interesting piece in this bullpen is left-handed Nik Turley.

Turley will be 31 next season, but is still pre-arb eligible and put together a solid season despite his 4.98 ERA. Hitters some how found ways to put runs on Turley, who gave up just 13 hits in 21.2 innings, good for a 5.4 H/9. He also limited the long ball while striking out 21.7% of batters for a 3.88 FIP.

With shortened seasons for Kyle Circk and Michael Feliz, it will be hard determine what role these two play in 2021. Both of these pitchers has shown potential in the past.

Factor in a guy like lefty Austin Davis, who came over in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates have enough pieces to put together a strong pen in 2021. All that matters now is what they do this offseason, and how they execute next year.