Pittsburgh Pirates: Teams That Could Be Interested In Steven Brault

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steven Brault’s name has come up in recent trade rumors. So, let’s tkae a look at some teams that could be interested in the lefty.

Recently, rumors have surfaced that teams have been looking into Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Steven Brault. The Pittsburgh Pirates are in a rebuilding state so it makes sense teams are calling them about some of their pieces.

Brault is coming off a career best season. Through 42.2 innings of work, Brault put up a 3.38 ERA, 3.92 FIP and 1.19 WHIP. Brault allowed just two home runs for a 0.42 HR/9. This was mainly due to his exit velocity of 85.8 MPH and 49.1% ground ball rate.

Brault also was above average in hard hit rate, expected batting average and expected slugging. Notably, he allowed no runs in six of his 11 games. Plus, he had shown some promise in 2019 with the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching to the tune of a 2.99 ERA, 3.59 FIP and 1.34 WHIP in a 72.1 inning stretch.

There are a few drawbacks when it comes to Brault. For one, before 2020, he’s been extremely inconsistent. Even when he did show some promise in 2019, Brault still had an ERA over 5 and a FIP approaching 5 during that season. From 2016 to 2019, he had a 4.88 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 1.56 WHIP. Though home runs weren’t the biggest of issues for the left-hander, walks were with an 11.3% walk rate to go with a sub-par 18.8% strikeout rate. Walks were still an issue for Brault in 2020 given his 12.4% rate, albeit with a higher strikeout rate (21.1%). He also had a 5.01 SIERA and 5.06 xFIP. Even during his breakout 2020, his SIERA, xFIP and DRA were above or approaching 5.

While Brault might not have the potential another trade chip the Pittsburgh Pirates have in Joe Musgrove does, he makes for a solid back-end starter with three years of control remaining, which if the signings of Drew Smyly and Robbie Ray are an indication of anything, Brault should get a fair amount of trade attention. Since 2016, Brault has only ever been on the injured list twice, a seven-day stint back in 2016 and missed a month in 2019. Aside from that, he’s been pretty durable. So who could be some of the teams that are interested in the lefty?

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have a solid starting staff, but, like the Nationals, are really lacking when it comes to the last spot in the rotation. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler might be the most underrated 1-2 combo in baseball. They combined for a 4 fWAR across 142 innings (71 innings each) in 2020. If Nola and Wheeler pitched 180 innings each with the same fWAR/inning rate, they would have totaled 10.14 fWAR.

They have one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, that being Spencer Howard. Though he did struggle in his first taste of big league action, Howard is still ranked as one of the best prospects in baseball. FanGraphs ranks him at 32 and the 11th best pitching prospect. MLB Pipeline ranks him at #28. Their number four starter, Zach Eflin, has been inconsistent throughout his career, but had a good 2020 where he had a 3.97 ERA and 3.39 FIP.

It’s the final spot that many fans are concerned about. Vince Velasquez hasn’t had a notable season since 2016, the last time he had an ERA+ of 100 or better (101). Adonis Media could be another arm they turn to, but completely skipped Triple-A in 2020 and threw 4 innings in the bigs. Plus, he also struggled at Double-A.

With so much money on the books between Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen, still wanting to resign J.T. Realmuto, and needing bullpen help badly, the Pittsburgh Pirates might be able to work out a trade where they send both Brault and Richard Rodriguez to the Phillies for a worthwhile package.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins are going to see a handful of their starting pitchers from 2020 hit free agency. Rich Hill, Jake Odorizzi and Homer Bailey all could leave them this offseason. This leaves the last few spots in their rotation empty. Due to this, the Twins could be interested in talking to the Pittsburgh Pirates about Brault.

The Twins will probably lead off with veteran right-hander Kenta Madea. When Minnesota acquired Maeda last offseason they probably didn’t expect they’d be getting a Cy Young candidate, yet that’s exactly what they got.

Maeda tossed 66.2 innings posting a 2.70 ERA, 3.00 FIP and league leading 0.75 WHIP. This landed him 2nd in AL Cy Young voting. While it was a limited amount of games for obvious reasons, it was the first time since 2016 he worked exclusively out of the rotation, and it just so happens those two seasons are the best of his career.

Following him will be Jose Berrios. Berrios, a former top 20 prospect, has put up really solid numbers throughout his career, but hasn’t yet been a consistent ace-level pitcher. He’s shown flashes of it, but has yet to put it all together. Still, his 3.80 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 1.19 WHIP through 2017-2019 are good numbers for a number two starter. Though Berrios’s ERA and FIP were slightly above 4 this year, he’s entering just his age 27 season and gives the Twins good outings.

Michael Pineda has had a winding career, but has been a solid starter for the Twins since coming off a PED suspension in 2019. In the last two years Pineda has a 3.91 ERA, 3.74 FIP and 1.16 WHIP in 172.2 innings of work. He did really well last year allowing just 10 earned runs, and no home runs in 26.2 innings of work.

The last two spots are up for grabs. It seems Randy Dobnak has the upper hand for one of the two spots. The Pennsylvanian native was very inconsistent throughout 2020. His first 30.1 innings yielded just six earned runs, seven walks and three home runs. However, he pitched just 16.1 innings between the end of August and throughout half of September giving up 15 earned runs and was even optioned at one point. Still given his very good first half and solid showing in 2019, he probably is penciled in at one of the two spots.

The fifth spot has a lot more uncertainty. Lewis Thorpe and Devin Smeltzer could both be candidates for the last spot, but struggled in 2020. Matt Wisler could make a return to the rotation, mainly serving as a long relief and opener in 2020 and being really good at it, but after struggling for years functioning as a typical starter, his move to the pen might be permanent. The Twins do have two higher ranking prospects, that being Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran, but the former hasn’t made it to Double-A ball yet and the latter has pitched less than 50 innings at Double-A ball.

Houston Astros

Last offseason, the Astros lost Gerrit Cole, who finished 2nd in Cy Young voting, to the New York Yankees in free agency. A lot of other things happened that offseason to the Astros as well, but that’s besides the point.

That left a very good 1-2 at the top of the ‘Stros rotation of Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. However, Verlander had to undergo Tommy John surgery after just one start. Greinke had a solid season, but not to Greinke expectations.

Verlander should return sometime in 2021, leaving Greinke to take the role of ace. Behind him, Framber Valdez had a very strong 2020 season where he pitched 70.2 innings and put up a 3.57 ERA and 2.85 FIP. Lance McCullers, who came back from Tommy John surgery himself, had a solid return campaign with a 3.93 ERA and 3.70 FIP. The last two spots could really be anyone’s game.

Cristian Javier, who finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting, seems to have been penciled into one of the two spots, but his 4.94 FIP and other ERA estimators leave much to be desired.

Jose Uquidy had a solid ERA as well, but like with Valdez, struggled in terms of his ERA estimators. Brandon Bielak and Josh James struggled entirely throughout 2020. Young arms like Luis Garcia and Forrest Whitley could use a little more seasoning in the minors. Plus, with a handful of their key players reaching free agency, they might want to keep some payroll space open. Brault would give the Astros a solid backend option while keeping their payroll to a reasonable level. It would not be a surprise to see them give the Pittsburgh Pirates a call about Brault.

Honorable Mentions

While the Nationals, Phillies, Twins, and Astros are definitely going to be in the market for a starting pitcher, they aren’t going to be the only ones. However, I do think they might be the most interested in Brault. Still, I think these teams could at least gauge the Pittsburgh Pirates about the lefty.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins made history recently by hiring Kim Ng, the first female and Asian American general manager in Major League Baseball history. She has been given an organization that has a lot of talent, especially in their starting pitching staff. Sixto Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Elieser Hernandez are all 25-years-old or younger. Brault would make a nice change-of-pace given all their right handers and also gives a different approach. While they might look into a back-end starter like Brault, I do feel they might go a more temporary route. They have a few top pitching prospects we might see in a few years so pursuing a free agent veteran on a one or two year deal to round out the last spot might be the route they go.

San Diego Padres

The Padres just took a big hit to their rotation with Mike Clevinger having to undergo Tommy John. This still leaves them a strong starting rotation with Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack and Zach Davies. Don’t forget they have Mackenzie Gore and Luis Pantino, two players who are considered consensus top 10 prospects in all of baseball. Given that they have Gore, Pantino, Paddack and Lamet, they, like the Marlins, might look for some backend options, but this isn’t a necessity for them. They still have a handful of other starting options ranging from Davies to Joey Lucchesi, Adrian Morejon and Ryan Weathers. But that may not stop them from giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a call.

San Francisco Giants

Out of our honorable mentions, I think the Giants could be the most interested in Brault. They were able to get Kevin Gausman back with their qualifying offer, but lost Drew Smyly to the Braves. Brault would help stabilize their rotation with Tyler Anderson and Logan Webb coming off sub-par seasons. Though Brault is controllable for three seasons, he isn’t a need for the Giants. They aren’t necessarily in contention, as many of their top prospects won’t be up for another two years at least, and with a lot of money coming off the books soon, they may just want to save up to go big in free agency next off season. Still, considering Brault’s control, affordability and the Giants need for a starter, they shouldn’t be ruled out.

Los Angeles Angels

Now, yes, the Angels could use another starter. But they need a starter who’s going to make more of an impact than Brault. Sure they made a move for Dylan Bundy who originally didn’t look like he was going to make as much of an impact as he did, but they need someone who’s going to be more of a safe bet. They’ll take a look at almost every starting pitcher available, that includes Brault, but out of any of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I think Musgrove is more likely to go out West to the Halos rather than Brault.