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.