Aroldis Chapman's departure could affect this former first-round pick in Pirates bullpen

After rumors swirled around about teams interested in Aroldis Chapman, the Boston Red Sox jumped in front of all other competitors and signed the veteran southpaw. Although it was unlikely that the Pirates would have re-signed Chapman, his departure is now official, at nearly the same salary he nabbed in Pittsburgh last year. As a result, the Pirates currently have just one left-handed arm in their bullpen.

That lone southpaw is Joey Wentz, a former first-round pick the Pirates claimed off of waivers at the beginning of September. In his lone month with the team, Wentz displayed a ton of potential, which could have even earned him a speciality role in 2025.

With no more Aroldis Chapman, Pirates' lone lefty Joey Wentz could have a higher-leverage role

The Pirates claimed Wentz off of waviers from the Tigers after he delivered an earned run average of 5.37 across 55.1 innings and struck out 60 batters. Opposing hitters batted .268 against him and he walked batters at a 10.6% rate to generate a WHIP of 1.57. The Pittsbrugh front office saw something in Wentz, though, resulting in them picking him up and seeing what he could do in the last month of the season.

With the Pirates, Wentz appeared in eight games and pitched 12 innings. In that small sample size, he posted an earned run average of 1.50 with an FIP of 2.75, while striking out 13 batters. Opposing hitters batted just .140 against him, but his walk rate increased to 12%. That contributed towards his WHIP of 1.00.

He has experienced issues with control in his entire major league career, ranking in the bottom third of walk percentage league-wide. That is a concern for 2025, but there are some interesting Statcast metrics that show that he could be an under-the-radar arm next season.

Wentz prevented batters from hitting the ball hard, as his opponents 'average exit velocity sat at 88.1 miles per hour. He also limited solid contract consistently, with a hard-hit rate of 36.1%. The barrel rate against him was also just 7.2%, and his whiff rate reached up to 29.6%. Each of these stats represented an above-average mark across the league.

The Pirates should definitely be examining the market for left-handed relievers to pair with Wentz, but they have sneaky arm in the ex-top pick that could make a huge impact in 2025. He has some interesting numbers that could help him take a positive step forward in the Pirates' bullpen.