Pittsburgh Pirates News: Two Veterans Designated for Assignment

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates designated both Trevor Williams and Jose Osuna for assignment. Corresponding roster moves added Rodolfo Castro and Max Kranick to the 40 man roster.

Two long time Pittsburgh Pirates, Trevor Williams and Jose Osuna, have been desiganted for assignment. While these moves makes perfect sense from a rebuilding and organizational perspective, both of these players will be sorely missed by Pirate fanbase and community.

Williams started 94 games for the Pirates between the years 2016 and 2020 and posted a 4.43 ERA. Without a doubt, Trevor’s best season was in 2018, when he started 31 games, won 14 games, and posted a 3.11 ERA. His pristine control, deceptive fastball, and overall success in 2018 led many to believe that Williams would be a staple in the Pirate rotation for years to come.

Sadly, like many other starters for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Williams was never able to repeat his breakout season, posting ERAs of 5.38 and 6.18 in 2019 and 2020 respectfully. Advanced metrics backed William’s rising ERA as his SIERA, FIP, xFIP, and HR/FB ratio all steadily rose. By 2020, over 24% of fly balls hit off of Williams would leave the park as home runs – an unsustainable rate for any pitcher.

While these statistics and others support the decision by the Pirates to DFA Williams, Pirate fans should focus on and celebrate everything that Williams brought to the city of Pittsburgh. Personally, I have really appreciated his involvement in numerous non-profits. Especially, Project34, a non-profit co-founded by Williams to help individuals with spinal cord injuries.

In addition, the IMHO podcast hosted by William’s and Steven Brault continues to be a fantastic listen. This podcast allows fans to connect with Williams, Brault, and other Pirate players while they discuss everything from cereal to movies.

Finally, any Pittsburgh reporter will vouch for Trevor’s willingness to connect to the city of Pittsburgh through interviews and candid conversations. Williams was truly a class act and the staff at Rum Bunter wishes him the best in his future baseball endeavors.

Osuna made his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017 where he played in 104 games. Sadly, the season was relatively disappointing for Osuna as he slashed .233/.269/.428. This led to Osuna bouncing up and down between the MLB club and Triple-A Indianapolis for the next three years. 2019 was perhaps Osuna’s most promising year as he slashed .264/.310/.456 while hitting 10 home runs over 285 plate appearances. However, Osuna never found his stride in 2020 and was unable to hold on to a roster spot – which is never a good sign on a club that finished 19-41 on a shortened season.

Like Williams, Osuna will be missed by the city. While the statistics may not show it, Osuna always played hard and seemed to come through with timely hits on a regular basis.

Corresponding moves for the Pirates added Rodolfo Castro and Max Kranick to the 40-man roster. Castro is a young middle infield prospect for the Pirates that has recently moved up in the organization’s farm system. FanGraphs recently rated him as the organization’s 12th best prospect. However, Castro has a long way to go as he hasn’t played above High-A and is only 21 years old.

Kranick was selected in the 11th round of the 2016 draft and is a pitching prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kranick has also not played above High-A and does not crack any prospect lists for the Pirates. I would expect both players to open the 2021 season in Double-A play.