3 international relievers the Pittsburgh Pirates should pursue this offseason

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to improve their bullpen this offseason. What once looked like this team’s biggest strength ended up falling apart throughout the season. There’s still a solid foundation, with Dennis Santana having a huge breakout in Pittsburgh, Kyle Nicolas taking a big step forward, and the Pirates still having Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski. Even though David Bednar struggled with command throughout the year, his stuff looked as good as ever. But that represents a highly incomplete picture, with very few trustworthy bedrocks.

The Bucs should scour the free agent market to bolster their roster, but they should also take a look at what the international market could hold. They might be able to find a good reliever willing to make the move to the US and MLB, one that could take over a high leverage role in the Pirates’ bullpen in 2025 from an unexpected origin.

Raidel Martinez

Raidel Martinez has been one of the most dominant relievers in NBP for years now. The Cuban right-hander transitioned from a starting pitcher role to a reliever role during the late-2010s. He headed to Japan in 2017, playing for the Chunichi Dragons during his entire career in Asia, and has been nearly untouchable since getting there.

Dating back to the start of the 2020s, Martinez has pitched 252.1 innings, working to an ERA of just 1.11. His highest ERA in the last five seasons is 1.94, and he's finished two years with an ERA below 1.00. Martinez's WHIP comes in at just 0.78. The last time he had a WHIP over 0.90 was in 2019. The right-handed closer has struck out 30.7% of his opponents with a walk rate of 5.9%. Martinez has allowed nine home runs as well, which comes out to a HR/9 ratio of 0.32.

Now granted, NPB has become one of the most pitcher-friendly leagues in baseball. The average ERA has steadily decreased from an already low 3.83 in 2020 down to just 2.89 this year. For reference, only four qualified pitchers in MLB during the 2024 regular season had an ERA lower than the average in Japan this year.

Regardless of how pitcher-friendly NPB is, Martinez’s stuff should play well in MLB as well. His four-seamer can hit triple-digits, and he pairs that with a low-90s splitter. This pitch helps him induce a ton of grounders and keep up a strong home run rate. Martinez throws from a high vertical arm slot, and while he has long levers, he’s obviously been able to control his stuff very well.

Martinez reportedly has a chance to sign with an MLB team this offseason. He did not show much interest in forgoing the last season of his contract last offseason, according to FanGraphs. But if Martinez decides to field offers from MLB teams this winter, the Pirates should highly consider it.  He is considered a foreign professional under MLB's current CBA.

Kaima Taira

Kaima Taira is a seven-year veteran of NPB. During the first five seasons of his pro career, Taira was used as a reliever. He was quite dominant as well, posting a 1.38 ERA, 30.9% strikeout rate, and 10.8% walk rate. Still, the Saitama Seibu Lions moved him into their starting rotation in 2023.

He was still a solid arm, working to a respectable 2.40 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 2.78 K:BB ratio. Taira whiffed a quarter of his opponents as a starter, while handing out walks at a 9% rate. He was not very home run prone, either, with an 0.60 HR/9 ratio. However, his overall stuff took a hit after moving into the rotation.

This past year, Taira was limited due to injuries and saw more bullpen action once again, pitching 51 innings in 25 games. Although he had a low 1.74 ERA, he walked 9.7% of opponents with a strikeout rate of only 20.3%. While his walk rate was right around his career average of 10.4%, this marked a career-low K% for Taira. On the plus side, he continued to limit home runs well, surrendering two long balls, leading to a HR/9 ratio of 0.35.

When Taira pitches in shorter stints, he sits in the upper 90s, averaging out around 96-98 MPH with carry. But when he was used as a starter, he was sitting closer to 93-94 MPH. His splitter still looks like a plus offering. He’ll also mix in a slider as his breaking offering. His command is fringy, however, as his career walk rate is just a touch over 10%.

Taira reportedly has “MLB aspirations.” The Pirates could offer that to him. The soon-to-be 25-year-old right-hander will be old enough, with enough experience, to be considered a foreign professional, so the Pirates would have to offer him an MLB contract.