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Pittsburgh Pirates: Left-Handed Bullpen Free Agent Options

By Noah Wright

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: Zack Britton #53 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: Zack Britton #53 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 02: Andrew Chafin #37 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning of the game at Target Field on August 2, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Tigers defeated the Twins 5-3. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

Top Of The Line

Andrew Chafin is the best left-handed relief option on the market. The veteran reliever turned in a dominant season with a 2.83 ERA, 3.06 FIP, and 1.17 WHIP. Chafin struck out 27.6% of batters faced with a 7.8% walk rate. He also had a 51.3% ground ball rate and allowed just five home runs in 57.1 innings of work. The underlying numbers liked him too, as he had a 3.27 xFIP and 2.97 SIERA.

The next best option is arguably Taylor Rogers. Rogers is coming off a season in which he could have been a lot better. Despite a 4.76 ERA, Rogers owned a 3.22 FIP, 3.26 xFIP, 2.60 SIERA, and 86 DRA-. Rogers also struck out a whopping 30.7% of batters faced with a walk rate of just 6.6%. It’s not as if he gave up a ton of home runs either, with a 0.98 HR/9. Rogers was simply unlucky in 2022 and a prime rebound candidate for 2023. He also has a decent history of being a dominant high-leverage reliever.

The third reliever I consider more of a higher-end option is Matt Moore. Moore pitched to a 1.95 ERA, 2.98 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP in the lefty’s first year solely out of the bullpen. Moore struck out 27.3% of the batters he faced, which was a career-high.

His 0.36 HR/9 was also a career-best. But luck did play a hand in Moore’s success. He had a 3.87 xFIP and 3.69 SIERA and danced around a 12.5% walk rate. Moore had a .257 batting average on balls in play and a 4.2% HR/FB ratio. But he did limit hard contact to an above-average rate and is still one of the better LHP options available. If he cuts down his walks to below 10%, he’ll be effective in 2023.

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