Former Pittsburgh Pirates Currently With Independent League Teams

The independent leagues are an interesting level, but there are plenty of fomer Pittsburgh Pirates players and prospects at this level of baseball.

Independent League baseball: it’s a level of baseball where you have a mix of career minor leaguers holding onto the dream of eventually making the major leagues and recent college graduates looking to get into the professional scene. You’ll occasionally see a former long-time big leaguer who had success in the MLB, at this level as well, like Mat Latos, Alejandro De Aza, Dante Bichette, and Juan Gonzalez. The most successful MLB player to play in the independent circuit was Rickey Henderson. It’s actually the very first level of professional baseball I watched, given the Washington Wild Things and their park are a whole lot closer to my residence than to the Pittsburgh Pirates and PNC Park.

Plenty of players have seen playing time in the major leagues and are now with independent league teams. Most guys never were big-time stars like Bichette, Gonzalez, or Henderson, but there are some former notable prospects and guys who played a few games in the majors playing with some of these independent clubs. The Pirates have a few former Major Leaguers who suited up for at least one major league game, now in the Indy Leagues.

Today, I want to look at the nine former Pirates now in the independent leagues. Not every single player played with the Pirates, but they at least took the field in one major league contest. They’re also only nine players I could find who at least played in the Pirates’ minor league system and are still active today with an United States independent league organization. With that being said, let’s look at our first player.

RHP Alex McRae

Alex McRae was never a top prospect for the Pirates. But the former 10th-round pick did work his way up the Pirates’ system and made his professional debut in 2018. He didn’t pitch much for the Pirates in ‘18 or ‘19, working just 33 innings and surrendering 30 earned runs.

After the 2019 season, the Bucs released McRae, where he latched on with the Chicago White Sox. Again, McRae served as the emergency depth guy as he pitched just five innings for the Sox in 2020 and 2021. After last season, McRae decided to try the independent circuit.

So far, he’s found his niche, pitching to the tune of a 3.06 ERA and 1.21 WHIP for the American Association Lake County DockHounds. He’s given up just five home runs all season with a 23% strikeout rate; however, he’s only allowed 4.8% of batters faced to reach via free pass. McRae has a 4.75 K:BB ratio for the DockHounds.

OF Felix Pie

It’s been a very long career for Felix Pie. Pie was initially signed by the Chicago Cubs over two decades ago on July 3rd, 2001. Pie quickly became a top 100 prospect throughout the league, making Baseball America’s top 100 list every year from 2002 through 2007. However, he could never establish himself in the major leagues. He hit for just a .673 OPS, .296 wOBA, and 81 wRC+ for the Cubs and Baltimore Orioles from 2007 through 2011.

Pie spent one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, that being in 2013. He mostly played at Triple-A, slashing .251/.325/.390 with a 100 wRC+. On the plus side, he did swipe 38 bags for Indianapolis. Pie did appear in the majors for the Pirates, albeit in only 27 games and collecting 31 plate appearances. Pie had five hits and struck out 13 times.

Fast-forward to 2022, and Pie has played pretty much everywhere you can think of. He’s played Dominican Winter Ball, in the KBO, in China, and in the Mexican League. Now 37 years old, he’s been playing with the Atlantic League Kentucky Wild Health Genomes. He actually hasn’t done too bad either, batting .251/.350/.413. He’s even pitched a third of an inning for the Genomes.

You gotta give Pie some credit. He’s likely one of the longest active professional baseball players in the United States, making his professional debut in 2002. His last affiliated professional baseball game was on September 29th, 2013, when the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2. Despite not getting any attention from any Major League team for nearly a decade now, Pie has stuck with his craft, now in his 21st professional season.

OF Willy Garcia

I actually got to see Willy Garcia play this summer as I interned in baseball operations with the Washington Wild Things, and the Tri-City ValleyCats came to town. The ValleyCats got a lot of attention this summer for signing former Vanderbilt ace and the second overall pick in the 2022 draft (and 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft), Kumar Rocker. However, Willy Garcia has done great for them.

Garcia was originally a prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He signed with the team a decade ago, back in 2012, out of the Dominican Republic. Coming up through the system, Garcia was a power-hitting outfielder. His best season was in 2014, when he batted for a .789 OPS, .346 wOBA, and 114 wRC+. He belted 18 home runs for Double-A Altoona and entered the 2015 season as the Pirates’ 14th best prospect.

However, things didn’t work out for Garcia as he struggled as he reached Triple-A. After the 2016 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Garcia did appear in some major league games, though, collecting 25 hits in 119 plate appearances across 44 contests. However, after the season, he was released.

Garcia has since mostly played in the Dominican, Mexican, and Venezuelan Leagues but returned to the United States in 2021 with the Schaumburg Boomers. He’s currently with Tri-City, hitting .305/.351/.496 in 142 plate appearances.

UTL Steven Lombardozzi

Steven Lombardozzi spent most of his professional career as a member of the Washington Nationals. A 19th-round pick, Lombardozzi was never a highly touted prospect but steadily made his way through their minor league system as a contact-hitting-oriented infielder. He was the Nats’ 10th best prospect per MLB Pipeline going into 2012.

Lombardozzi earned semi-regular playing time in 2012 but heavily struggled with a .671 OPS, .296 wOBA, and 83 wRC+. After 2012, Lombardozzi spent one more year with the Nationals before being included in a package with Robbie Ray and Ian Krol for Doug Fister in the 2013-2014 off-season. He was traded once again that off-season, this time to the Baltimore Orioles for Alex Gonzalez. Lombardozzi spent just a single season with the Orioles, playing very sparingly in the major league before being put on waivers in the 2014-2015 off-season, and that’s when the Pirates claimed him.

Lombardozzi appeared in only 12 major league games and had 11 plate appearances with zero hits and one walk. He spent most of the season for the Bucs’ Triple-A affiliate, where he had a .671 OPS, .316 wOBA, and 97 wRC+. After 2015, Lombardozzi returned to the Nationals’ organization but didn’t appear in a major league game. He bounced around with the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles before heading into Indy League ball.

Lombardozzi spent the 2019 and 2021 seasons with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League before making his way to the American Association in 2022. He’s currently with the Kane County Cougars, with a solid .305/.359/.405 slash line in 173 trips to the plate. He’s served as a utility man, playing a little bit of everywhere on the diamond.

RHP A.J. Schugel

A.J. Schugel was quite a solid arm for the Pirates in 2016 and 2017. The right-handed reliever was originally a 25th-round pick by the LA Angels in 2010 and was part of the big trade that sent Tyler Skaggs to LA, Adam Eaton to the Chicago White Sox, and Mark Trumbo to Arizona. Schugle went into the 2013 season as the Angels’ 16th best prospect, per MLB Pipeline.

Schugle didn’t play a major league game for LA and only pitched nine innings for the D-Backs. However, he was successful in 2016 and 2017 as a reliever for the Pirates. Between the two seasons, he worked to the tune of a 3.00 ERA, 3.50 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP in 84 innings of work. He only had a 21.5% K-rate but had a quality 7.9% walk rate and a .75 HR/9 rate.

However, after missing a good chunk of 2018 due to injuries, the Pirates released Schugel despite his solid results. Schugel played some indy ball in 2020 and returned to affiliated ball in 2021 with the New York Mets and their Triple-A team. However, he returned to the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association in 2022.

He’s done pretty solid as a swingman for the Milkmen, tossing 47.1 innings (18 appearances, seven starts), working to the tune of a 3.80 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. His 22% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate are similar to what he had with the Pirates. However, he’s seen his HR/9 decline to just 0.38.

RHP Williams Jerez

Williams Jerez was formerly a second-round pick by the Boston Red Sox back in 2011. Jerez was actually drafted as an outfielder, but after struggling to develop, the Red Sox decided to move Jerez to the mound, where he found more success, but not enough to be considered one of their top pitching prospects.

It took Jerez a while to reach the major leagues, but after being included in the trade that sent Ian Kinser to Boston at the 2018 trade deadline, Jerez got his chance to pitch in the major leagues with the LA Angels. But he threw just 15 innings and gave up ten earned runs. While he struck 15 batters, he also walked eight and gave up three long balls.

Jerez was then sent from LA to the San Francisco Giants for now former Pirates reliever Chris Stratton and then was selected off waivers by the Bucs. He only pitched 3.2 innings with the Pirates in the major leagues but did not appear for any affiliated team in 2020. Jerez latched on with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 but did not pitch in the MLB.

Jerez is now with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League. He hasn’t pitched much, appearing in just six games and 4.2 innings. He’s struggled mightily, though, giving up ten earned runs throughout that small sample size.

OF Troy Stokes Jr.

The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Troy Stokes Jr. in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft. He steadily made his way through the Brewers’ system, showing off a power/speed combination. Going into 2018, MLB Pipeline ranked him as the Brewers’ 22nd best prospect, praising his compact frame and base running ability.

However, after performing well with each of the Brewers’ minor league affiliates, he struggled once he reached Triple-A. He had just a .726 OPS in 2019 and was selected off waivers by the Detroit Tigers in late September of that season. After his stint with the Tigers, the Pirates claimed him in January 2021.

Stokes Jr. only appeared in eight games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, collecting two hits and one walk in 20 trips to the plate. In a strange series of events, the Pirates traded Stokes Jr. and relief pitcher Jandel Gustave back to Milwaukee for young international signee Samuel Escudero. Escudero currently has a .419 OBP and .771 OPS for the Pittsburgh Pirates Dominican Summer League affiliate.

Stokes Jr.’s return to Milwaukee wasn’t great. He had just a.606 OPS for their Triple-A affiliate and was granted free agency following the ‘21 season. He has since been playing with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, where he’s done quite well. He’s batting .269/.361/.431 with ten homers, 22 doubles, and 29 stolen bases in 92 games/415 plate appearances.

RHP Nelson Figueroa

It’s been a long, long time since Nelson Figueroa was a part of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, 18 years to be exact. Technically, Figueroa isn’t a player but rather a coach who was forced into a game under unexpected circumstances. But he did make an appearance this season, which is enough to make him eligible for today’s list.

Figueroa was drafted way back in 1995 by the New York Mets. A 30th-round selection, Figueroa never appeared for the Mets, being dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 1998 trade deadline. Figueroa pitched just three games for the D-Backs before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the package that sent Curt Schilling to Arizona. His time in Philadelphia only lasted one season as he was then selected off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002 but released at the end of the ‘02 campaign.

That’s when the Pirates signed him, and he pitched two seasons for the Bucs in ‘03 and ‘04. Between these two seasons, Figueroa worked to a 4.38 ERA, 5.68 FIP, and 1.32 WHIP in 63.2 innings of work. He only struck out 33 batters but walked 24 and gave up 12 home runs. After the ‘04 season, Figueroa bounced around with plenty of teams. This included the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies again, the Houston Astros, the Pirates again in 2011, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and D-Backs once again in ‘13.

After two seasons in China, where he played a key role in back-to-back Taiwan series championships for the Uni-Presidents, Figueroa retired as a player from professional baseball. Then from 2015 through 2019, Figueroa was a pre/post-game analyst for SNY before joining the Staten Island FerryHawks’ coaching staff in 2022.

Here’s where things get interesting. On August 9th (so fairly recently), the FerryHawks were scheduled to play a doubleheader which they hadn’t prepared for as it was a sudden scheduling change. Because the FerryHawks weren’t ready for the unexpected DH, Figueroa stepped up and took the mound for the team. He pitched all seven innings and threw 119 pitches. Granted, he did give up eight earned runs, but he did pretty well for a guy who hadn’t pitched professionally for eight years and 48 years old.