Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential Outside of the Box Bullpen Free Agent Target

The Pittsburgh Pirates could use some help to bolster their bullpen, and adding this international right-hander could prove to be useful.

The Pittsburgh Pirates only have a few reliable bullpen options entering the offseason. David Bednar essentially locked down the closer role. Chris Stratton, if he isn’t traded, will have a role in the pen. However, the rest are young and inexperienced arms like Yerry De Los Santos, Blake Cederlind (if healthy), and Nick Mears.

While the overall bullpen market has plenty of quality options to help give depth to the Pirate bullpen, they could go after some of the more interesting relievers that could potentially be available. One of those said interesting relievers could be seeking a deal in the United States after pitching internationally for the last few years, that being flamethrower Thyago Vieira.

Vieira was a former Seattle Mariner and Chicago White Sox farmhand. He did appear in the Majors for both teams back in 2017-2019, but pitched just 25.2 innings, surrendering 21 earned runs on 4 home runs, 14 walks, and just 24 strikeouts. In December 2019, the White Sox released Vieira and then decided to go pitch in the Japan Central League.

The right-hander put up fantastic results for the Yomiuri Giants. He pitched a total of 98.1 innings, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He allowed just six home runs, leading to a fantastic 0.55 HR/9 rate. He also had a healthy 27.3% strikeout rate. The only issue Vieira ran into was walks, but an 11% walk rate isn’t the worst and manageable given his stuff.

This past season Vieira pitched 58.1 innings for the Giants. He struck out 28.3% of batters faced while only allowing home runs at a 0.5 HR/9 rate. He was team’s primary closer as he locked down 20 saves. Though like stated earlier, walks weren’t Vievia’s strong suit. He had a 11.3% walk rate. Overall, he had a 2.78 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

Vieira was sitting in the 156-158 KMH range, which is the equivalent of 97-98 MPH. He even reeled back and flung a 166 KMH (103 MPH) fastball so needless to say, he’s a pretty hard thrower. He also has a good curveball that comes in around 85-88 MPH. He has the arsenal you’d want for a late-inning reliever; a blazing fastball and a breaker that is going to get a lot of swings and misses.

Given how deep the relief pitcher market looks to be, taking a chance on Thyago Vieira wouldn’t be a bad idea. He could end up being a steal on a two-year deal. He’ll go into 2022 at 28-years-old, and turns 29 in July, so he’s not too old either. The gamble would be worth it if the Pittsburgh Pirates have the opportunity to sign him.