Pittsburgh Pirates: Five More Surprising Ex-Players Still Active

ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 09: Vin Mazzaro #32 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Five of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium on October 9, 2013 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 09: Vin Mazzaro #32 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Five of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium on October 9, 2013 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 22: Kyle Lobstein #53 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the game against the San Francisco Giants on June 22, 2016 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 22: Kyle Lobstein #53 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the game against the San Francisco Giants on June 22, 2016 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Kyle Lobstein

Kyle Lobstein was a second-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. After bouncing around with the New York Mets and then the Detroit Tigers, the Pirates purchased his contract from the Tigers in the 2015-2016 off-season. Between 2014 and 2015, he pitched 103 innings with the Tigers, only posting a 5.33 ERA, 4.33 FIP, and 1.456 WHIP.

Lobstein was brought in to serve as a long relief man. After all, he did start 17 of his 20 outings. Lobstein pitched 25 innings in 14 games. While he did have a solid 3.96 ERA, Lobstein had a poor 4.67 FIP and 1.48 WHIP. He allowed just 2 home runs, but walked 12 and struck out 15.

The Pirates sent him to the Baltimore Orioles at the August waiver deadline for another minor league pitcher, Zach Phillips. But he wouldn’t play a game in an Orioles uniform. In fact, he wouldn’t appear with any major league team for 4 seasons. He bounced around the minor leagues with the Orioles, Marlins, Dodgers, and Athletics before landing with the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals this year.

After posting solid numbers with the Nats’ and Brew Crews’ Triple-A affiliates, the Nationals promoted Lobstein to the big leagues for the first time since his last appearance with the Pirates in 2016. He only managed 4 outs in 3 outings and surrendered 3 earned runs.

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