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

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.