Pittsburgh Pirates Acquire Jeremy Beasley From Blue Jays

Tuesday evening the Pittsburgh Pirates made one trade at the buzzer for the 2022 MLB trade deadline, acquiring RHP Jeremy Beasley from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations

The Pittsburgh Pirates were quiet as MLB’s Tuesday 6 PM ET trade deadline closed in. Having traded their biggest trade chip, José Quintana, it seemed like it might be possible that the Pirates would not make another move. By the time 6 P.M. came on the eastern coast, no move had been reported. About 15 minutes had past before that changed.

The Pittsburgh Pirates did not move Ben Gamel, nor did they pull the trigger on a trade of David Bednar. Instead, it was a minor move that the Pirates made, acquiring right-handed reliever Jeremy Beasley from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations.

This is the third move the Pirates have made to strengthen their bullpen and pitching depth in the past week leading up to the Trade Deadline. First they acquired Colin Holderman from the New York Mets, following that by acquiring Johan Oviedo last night in the trade for Quintana, and now Beasley. These moves have given the Pirates multiple controllable relievers to help bolster a bullpen that has struggled over the past couple months.

For the year Beasley has 4.80 ERA and 5.45 FIP across a small sample of 15 innings. In the minors with Toronto’s triple-A club, Beasley posted a 1.89 ERA and 3.87 FIP in 38 innings. He carried a 30% strikeout rate in both the minors and majors this season, well above league average, while keeping his walk rates just under league-average at 7.8%.

Beasley has three pitches in his repertoire: a fastball, slider, and a splitter. His fastball, which he throws 61% of the time, averages 95 MPH and can touch 97 with a spin rate of 2440 RPM, which is in the 92 percentile in the Majors, according to Baseball-Savant. That fastball carries a 23.1% whiff rate.

His fastball generates similar a similar spin rate to his slider at 2449 RPM this season, though it averages about 13 MPH slower than his fastball at 82 MPH. His slider, which he has thrown 27.7% of the time, can work effectively with his fastball with his arm slot and the spin he generates. On the season the slider carries a 43.5% whiff rate. His splitter is least used pitch at 10%, but has generated a 60% whiff rate this season and touches 87 MPH.

While this certainly isn’t a blockbuster trade, or even a trade Pirates fans were counting on, small moves like these are important in adding depth to a Major League roster, especially pitching depth. Beasley will start with Triple-A Indianapolis, but we should expect to see him in a Pirate uniform before too long. For now, this wraps up the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline.