3 relievers the Pirates should consider trading for (with 1 surprise reunion)

Nick Mears

You might remember Nick Mears. The right-handed reliever was once one of the Pirates’ best relief pitching prospects. However, he never found his footing in Pittsburgh with a 4.75 ERA, 5.71 FIP, and 1.68 WHIP, mostly struggling with his command and walking 14.9% of batters faced. Mears was then claimed by the Texas Rangers, followed by the Colorado Rockies in the 2022-2023 offseason, where he has spent the last two years. However, it seems like he may have figured something out in a relative pitching desert.

Mears’ 6.25 ERA is going to stand out, but there’s plenty to suggest he can be a lot better. Mears is striking out batters at a 26.3% rate, and while he hasn’t turned into Greg Maddux, his 10.8% BB% is a lot better than what he’s done in the past. Despite pitching in Coors Field, Mears has not been prone to the home run ball. He has just a 0.45 HR/9 and 5.1% barrel rate.

Mears’ batting average on balls in play is .383, the second highest among any reliever with 30+ IP. He has the fourth-largest difference in expected batting average, as well as the 19th-biggest difference in expected weighted on-base average at .290, and the second-largest gap in expected ERA at 3.36. Mears’ solid performance is backed by a respectable 3.79 xFIP and 3.60 SIERA.

It’s taken a few years for Mears to figure things out, as this is the fifth MLB season he’s appeared in, but he’s finding something that’s working. The Rockies have relied on him to take care of the seventh inning or later. Mears is only 27 and controlled through 2027 with three more seasons of arbitration left.