10 Former Pittsburgh Pirates You Didn’t Know Were Still Playing

Outfielder Jose Tabata

Everyone’s favorite outfielder, Jose Tabata was a regular part of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010 – 2015. The Pirates acquired Tabata way back in 2010 with Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, and Ross Ohlendorf for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady.

Between 2010 and 2013, Tabata batted for a solid .274/.339/.385 line with a .322 wOBA, and 103 wRC+. He only struck out 14.4% of the time while having a usable 7.8% walk rate. As a defender, he had -1 DRS, a -2.7 UZR/150, and a -0.2 range runs above average. Nothing worth writing home about, but also nothing all that bad either.

Though his overall offensive output took a massive hit between 2014 and 2015. He turned in a dismal .283/.319/.325 line with a sub-.300 wOBA (.288) and sub-90 wRC+ (84) in 227 plate appearances. He still struck out only 14.5% of the time, but his walk rate was nearly cut in half, all the way to just 4%. But he’ll be remembered in baseball history by breaking up Max Scherzer’s perfect game by leaning into an inside pitch with two outs in the 9th inning.

The Pittsburgh Pirates then traded Tabata to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first baseman/left fielder Michael Morse at the 2015 trade deadline, but never appeared in another game after the trade. After a stint in the Dodger organization, the former prospect signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2017 season, but never appeared in either a major league or minor league game for the team up North.

This past season Tabata played with a team Pirate fans should remember. Now part of the independent Atlantic League, Tabata played in 28 contests with the West Virginia Power where he had 29 hits in 97 plate appearances, 11 walks, and just 10 strikeouts. Plus he had 4 home runs and 7 doubles. This winter, he is playing in the Venezuelan Winter League with former and now current teammate Gorkys Hernandez.

Utility Man Michael Martinez

Signed in 2005 by the Washington Nationals at 22-years-old, Michael Martinez was a Rule 5 Draft pick, but not by the Pittsburgh Pirates. That would be the Phillies who picked him in the 2009-2010 off-season. Martinez spent the first three seasons of his major league career with the Phillies, playing sparingly as a utility man. The most games he ever appeared in was his rookie season in 2011 when he played in 88 contests. But had a poor .540 OPS.

During 2014, the Pirates had their fair share of injuries. At one point, Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Russell Martin, Clint Barmes, and Starling Marte were on the injured list at least once. This meant that the Pirates had to turn to some emergency depth like Brent Morel, Jayson Nix, and Michael Martinez.

Martinez would only appear in 26 games and collected 44 plate appearances with the 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates. He played that role of super-utility seeing time at second base and all three outfield positions. But he only had 5 hits and 4 walks. After the 2014 regular season came to a close, he was released and started to bounce around from team to team.

He played sparingly with the Cleveland Indians in 2015 and then went into 2016 as one of the Indians defensive replacement utility men. But in early-July 2016, he was purchased by the Boston Red Sox. Just about a month later and 4 games in a Red Sox uniform, Martinez was yet again re-claimed off waivers by the Indians.

He even made the team’s postseason roster, but he also made the last out of the 2016 World Series, ending the Chicago Cubs’ 108 straight seasons without a World Series ring, the longest drought in MLB history. The Indians still brought back Martinez for 2017, but again, played a sparing role and was eventually traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash. But the Indians loved Martinez so much they signed him to a minor-league deal to bring him back for a third stint. But alas, 2017 would be Martinez’s last appearance in the major leagues.

That hasn’t stopped him from finding jobs in pro baseball. This past year, Martinez played with the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers where he didn’t do all that bad. He had a reliable .286/.353/.422 line, 21 walks, and just 27 strikeouts. Currently, he is in the Venezuelan Winter League where he has 5 hits in 19 plate appearances.

Outfielder Travis Snider

Travis Snider was considered a premier prospect in all of baseball in the late-2000’s. He was easily a consensus top 10 prospect. But the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder never seemed to figure it out. By the 2012 trade deadline, the Jays were ready to move on from Snider as they did a former top prospect for former top prospect swap with the Pirates in exchange for Brad Lincoln.

Snider essentially filled the role of 4th outfielder for the team for the rest of 2012 as well as in 2013. But 2014 would be the year that Snider would get the most playing time in his career, as well as put up pretty good numbers.

Through 359 plate appearances, Snider posted a .264/.338/.438 line, .343 wOBA, and 122 wRC+. He showed some pop, blasting 14 home runs while having a .175 ISO. Plus he only struck out 18.7% of the time while having a healthy 9.5% walk rate.

But with Gregory Polanco then on the rise and left and center field being taken up by Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen, it seemed like a waste to have a starting-caliber outfielder on the bench. That’s when the Pirates sent Snider to the Baltimore Orioles for pitching prospects Steven Brault and Stephen Tarpley.

Snider opened the 2015 season as one of Baltimore’s starting corner outfielders but struggled. He had just a .659 OPS through 236 plate appearances and was subsequently released in mid-August. That’s when the Pirates swooped back in to pick up Snider and he resumed his role as the team’s 4th outfielder.

But Snider hasn’t appeared in the majors again since then. He’s stuck around with the Triple-A affiliates of the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, while also making a stop with the Long Island Ducks. This past season, Snider played with the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate where he only hit .174/.305/.304 with a 69 wRC+. He mainly served as a backup first baseman, which is something he had almost no experience of doing up until this year.

Infielder Gift Ngoepe

Gift Ngoepe made history when he debuted on April 26th, 2017. He was the first South African born player to debut in Major League Baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates had signed Ngoepe years prior, way back in 2008. He was mostly a light-hitting infielder with a good ability to run and a respectable on-base percentage. Despite his poor bat, he was mostly known for his outstanding glove work at shortstop, second base, and third base.

Ngoepe only played 28 games with 63 plate appearances in 2017 with the Bucs. He collected 12 hits including 2 doubles and a triple. On the plus side, he did have 8 walks leading to a solid .323 OBP. All told, his teure in the majors with the Pirates saw him have a .619 OPS, .281 wOBA, and 71 wRC+. Though he did provide quality defense when he was given the chance to take the field.

After the 2017 season, the Toronto Blue Jays purchased his contract from the Pirates, but he would only go on to appear in 13 more MLB games and recieve just 19 plate appearances. He had just 1 hit and 1 walk through his final games. He was eventually released by the Jays in August of 2018, which would be the last time he would appear in the major leagues.

Ngoepe latched on with the Philadelphia Phillies in January 2019, but was released by the other Pennsylvania team in mid-June of that year. The Pittsburgh Pirates back into the mix to serve as organization depth. However, the infielder never saw the MLB again with either team. After his short second stint with the Pirates, Ngoepe played some in the Australian league and the Atlantic League.

If you went to any Washington Wild Things games this year, a Frontier League team located just about an hour outside of Pittsburgh, you may have seen Ngoepe play. He got regular playing time as one of the Equipe Quebec infielders and hit quite well. In 82 games and 327 plate appearances, Ngoepe had a .281/.377/.464 batting line. He stole 12 bags and hit 9 home runs, which tied a single-season career high for him (notably, when he hit 9 home runs previsously, he did in in over 120 games and in at least 500 plate appearances).

Gift Ngoepe may have been in the majors for the Pirates for just a handful of games, but he’s an interesting footnote in the history of the franchise and the history of the sport. He’s the first South African MLB player. Lots of players can’t say that they are their country’s first ever representative at the sport’s highest level, but Ngoepe can.

Pitcher Arquimedes Caminero

Arquimedes Caminero is one of the more unique names of the mid-2010’s Pittsburgh Pirates. Not only does he share a similar name with the famous Greek Mathematician, but he was a flamethrower who the Pirates decided to take a chance on.

He was originally a Miami/Florida Marlins prospect. Like most young relievers with a fastball that can reach into the triple-digits, Caminero consistently struggled with command but also got a lot of strikeouts. Before heading to the Pirates, Caminero had 19.2 major league innings under his belt but allowed 12 earned runs on 4 home runs.

Caminero had a pretty solid rookie campaign. In 74.2 innings, the right-hander had a 3.62 ERA, 3.80 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP. He only had a 23% strikeout rate, but a 9.2% walk rate, which for him was pretty solid. Caminero may not have been the dominant force out of the bullpen the likes of Mark Melancon, Tony Watson, or some of the other pitchers the Pirates had in that phenomenal 2015 bullpen, but he provided many quality innings as a relief arm.

The next season, Camrinero struggled. While he had a 3.51 ERA, he also saw his walk rate spike to 11.8% while his strikeout rate fell to just 17.1%. Plus with a 0.9 HR/9 (compared to 0.8 the year prior), Caminero had a 4.76 FIP and 1.65 WHIP. The Pirates traded Caminero to the Seattle Mariners for right-handed pitching prospect Pedro Vasquez, but the flamethrowing right-hander continued to struggle in Seattle. In December, the M’s let go of Caminero.

Caminero has mostly pitched in Japan since then but has also thrown a handful of innings in the Dominican Winter League, as well as a few innings with the New York Mets’ Triple-A team. This year, Caminero has tossed 20.1 innings with the Mexican League and DWL where he has surrendered just 5 earned runs on one home run but has also allowed 12 free passes.

Pitcher Radhames Liz

Radhames Liz was once a top-pitching prospect with the Baltimore Orioles. Going into 2008, he was considered a top 100 prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. However, Liz struggled to produce once he reached the upper minors and his brief time in the major leagues with the O’s wasn’t all that promising. He pitched 110 innings with the Orioles in 2007-2009, Liz produced a 7.50 ERA, 6.26 FIP, and 1.885 WHIP.

Liz was then claimed by the San Diego Padres where he spent the 2010 season with their Triple-A team but was let go in January 2011. That’s when Liz headed over to South Korea where he had a fairly successful three-season run with the LG Twins. This earned him a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2014 season and while he continued to pitch well for their Double-A and Triple-A team, he never appeared in the majors.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were the next team to give Liz a shot and he made his return to the major leagues in 2015. The right-hander made the Pirates’ opening day roster as a long relief man. In total, he only pitched 23.1 innings, surrendering 11 earned runs on 4 home runs and walking 12 more batters. He did have a strong 29% strikeout rate. While he was limiting hard contact and showing a mid-90’s fastball, he seemed to have no control and was subsequently released after the season.

Liz headed back overseas, this time to Japan where he had a solid 2016 season with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, and once again, got a shot with a National League Central Club, this time the Milwaukee Brewers. But he struggled with their Triple-A team, leading to him making his way through some Dominican Winter League clubs, and even having a stop in China.

Liz was still pitching as of 2021. He tossed 71.1 innings in the Dominican Winter League and Mexican League where he’s done pretty well. He has a decent 3.15 ERA while only allowing 2 long balls. While his 21.8% strikeout rate, nor his 9.2% walk rate are going to stand out among the crowd, he’s still posting solid results in other leagues.

Infielder Jason Rogers

The Pirates made a fairly small trade in the 2015-2016 off-season, sending outfielder Keon Broxton to the Milwaukee Brewers for infielder Jason Rogers. For a bench bat for the Brew Crew in 2015, he was pretty good. In 169 plate appearances in 86 games, Rogers batted .296/.367/.411 with a .354 wOBA, and 122 wRC+. He was primarily a first baseman, but also saw a few innings at third base and left field.

Rogers didn’t play much with the Pirates. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Indianapolis where he hit well, posting similar numbers to what he did with the Brewers in 2015. But in the very few chances he got to play with the major league club, he didn’t do all that well. He only got 33 plate appearances, collecting just 2 hits. Rogers still managed a respectable .303 on-base percentage because he also drew 7 walks. But 2016 would be the last time the major leagues got to see Jason Rogers.

Since being let go by the Pirates after the 2016 season, he’s bounced around playing in Japan, Australia, and the independent Atlantic League. This past year, Rogers was still active. He played the 2021 campaign with the Gastonia Honey Hunters and was one of the team’s best hitters. In 411 plate appearances, Rogers batted .286/.404/.501 with 20 home runs. He also walked 63 times compared to his just 48 strikeouts.

Infielder Ronny Cedeno

Of all former Pittsburgh Pirates you didn’t think you’d hear about in 2021, infielder Ronny Cedeno is probably one of the last guys you would have thought of. Cedeno was a former prospect in the Cubs’ system in the late-2000’s. But he never served a greater role than a bench/infield utility option for the team. During the 2008-2009 off-season Cedeno was sent to the Seattle Mariners where he only played 59 major league games before being traded at the 2009 deadline to the Pittsburgh Pirates with 3 other players for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson.

Cedeno became the Pirate starting shortstop for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. In 956 plate appearances between those 2 seasons, Cedeno posted a poor .253/.295/.362 line, .286 wOBA, and 77 wRC+. He only had 10 home runs but did provide usable defense at short. He had -1 DRS, but a .5 UZR.150, and +2.6 range runs above average.

The Pirates replaced Cedeno with Clint Barmes the following season, granting him free agency after the ‘11 campaign. After that, he appeared in the major leagues with the Mets, Astros, Padres, and finally the Phillies in 2014. He also played in the minors with the Diamondbacks and Giants, but 2014 was the last time Cedeno has played in the majors.

Cedeno has since returned to Venezuela where he has played 5 seasons. Cedeno is currently with the Leones del Caracas where he is hitting just .268/.303/.380 in 77 plate appearances. This is currently his age-38 season, so the official end of Cedeno’s pro career may be reaching its end. But for right now, he’s still hanging around.

Pitcher Romulo Sanchez

If you want to get obscure, it doesn’t get more obscure than Romulo Sanchez. Sanchez signed way back with the Los Angeles Dodgers almost 20 years ago, on March 8th, 2002. He was released a few years later and that’s when the Pirates picked him up on May 7th, 2004.

Romulo eventually made his way up through the system and made his debut on August 26th, 2007, the furthest back name I could find while writing this article. Sanchez only pitched a grand total of 31.1 innings with the Pirates between 2007 and 2008, working just a 4.60 ERA, 4.66 FIP, and 1.404 WHIP. He walked exactly the same amount of batters as he struck out (14) and gave up 2 home runs.

During 2009, he was traded to the New York Yankees for Eric Hacker. Sanchez would spend the next few seasons in the Yankees organization, but only 4.1 scoreless innings in the major leagues on September 25th, 2010. After that, he was DFA’d during spring training the next season. After a season spent overseas in Japan, Sanchez returned to the US to play the 2012 season with the Tampa Bay Rays Triple-A team.

Sanchez has played a little bit of everywhere since. He played a little in China, a few innings in Italy, but mainly pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League. That’s where he’s still pitching. In 10.2 innings with the Aguilas del Zulia, Sanchez has only allowed 4 earned runs but has walked 7 and only has 2 strikeouts.

As much as we see some guys and see their careers as failed MLB players, this guy has traveled the world, going from the United States, playing with the Yankees, pitching in Japan, China, Venezuela, and Italy, and doing it all while getting paid to play professional baseball. While Romulo Sanchez might be as obscure as it gets, he’s keeping his dream alive.