On Wednesday, the Pirates added recently DFA'd reliever Brett de Geus to the bullpen in a cash trade with the Blue Jays, but they're not done adding pitchers fans have never heard of in hopes of creating more depth. FanSided insider Robert Murray reported on Friday that Pittsburgh would be acquiring Red Sox reliever Chase Shugart, also recently DFA'd, in exchange for prospect Matt McShane, their 13th-round draft pick last year.
Shugart was cleared from the Red Sox's roster when Boston made a trade for Blake Sabol from the Giants, sending international bonus pool money back to San Francisco.
A 12th-round pick for the Red Sox in 2018, Shugart had to wait six years before Boston finally tried him on in the majors in 2024. He pitched 8 2/3 innings in relief and gave up four earned runs, three in a particularly rough September matchup against the White Sox.
His numbers in Triple-A don't particularly bode well for his viability as a major league mainstay (8.22 ERA in 2023, 4.46 in 2024), but at least he's a guy with a little bit of experience in the majors who the Pirates could call on in a pinch.
Pirates acquired recently DFA'ed reliever Chase Shugart from Red Sox
Shugart had a rough go of things in the Red Sox organization, including a 50-game suspension in 2019 thanks to a positive drug test for banned performance-enhancing drugs, and two trips to the Development List in 2023 due to flagging performance.
He graded out well enough as a potential starter until 2022 when, upon promotion to Double-A, he was moved to the bullpen, where he's stayed ever since. All told, he's pitched 148 1/3 career innings in Triple-A for a 6.13 ERA.
The Pirates are probably approaching this with some hope that they'll turn Shugart into a reclamation project, but his track record leaves a lot to be desired. He does, at least, look a little more promising than de Geus, who was thrown around the league in 2024 and pitched a few major league innings for three different teams. Shugart certainly doesn't seem like an impact addition, but he could eat a few innings in 2025.