Pirates make questionable first protection decision ahead of Rule 5 Draft deadline

The Pirates just made a cluster of moves to open up space on the 40-man roster. They had to open up room ahead of the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline so that they could add a group of deserving prospects to the 40-man instead of losing them. With the early flurry, two spots opened up, and the Pirates filled one of the openings by selecting the contract of Ryan Harbin.

At 24 years old, Harbin brings a fastball that touches 100 mph, a slider, and splitter. He has a quality three-pitch mix and was set to become a minor league free agent, but the Pirates added him so that such a departure wouldn't happen. He kind of flew under the radar last year, posing an 11.48 ERA in Triple-A, but the value comes from his stuff. His K/9 across three levels reached 13.07. Another issue that stood out was a 6.54 BB/9.

Even through the struggles, the stuff is there and is very valuable, especially with how well the Pirates have developed pitchers these last few years. Regardless, it is still surprising that they showed priority to Harbin's untapped potential over other deserving prospects, such as Brandan Bidois and Antwone Kelly.

Pirates make a surprising initial protection ahead of Rule 5 Draft deadline with Ryan Harbin.

Bidois is known for his impressive streak of going 64 straight batters and 18 innings without allowing a hit last year. The only pitcher in the modern era to go longer than that untouched is Dennis Eckersley with 21 innings. To top that off, he finished 2025 with an 0.74 ERA with a 10.18 K/9. That earned him the Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year award in the organization. He absolutely needs to be protected. It will happen ... right? It's ... it's got to. But it hasn't happened yet.

Kelly also had a great season, but didn't have a stretch quite as dominant as what Bidois put together. He made 25 starts (and no relief appearances) and posted a 3.02 ERA with a 9.73 K/9 and a 2.89 FIP across two levels. This helped him emerge as one of the more underrated arms in the organization, setting him up to maybe debut in 2026.

Esmerlyn Valdez is also an obvious prospect who demands protection, and with just one 40-man spot remaining, it's going to take a lot more shuffling to protect these other arms. Kelly and Bidois are very deserving, and their resumes look slightly better than Harbin's, yet he was protected first. Pittsburgh has a lot more work to do to save all these arms.