Pittsburgh Pirates: Minor League Free Agents Who Could Help With Depth

The Pittsburgh Pirates can always use depth, and these five minor leaguers recently elected free agency, and could be had on a minor league deal.

Minor league depth is something every team needs. It’s the last line of defense on a team’s depth chart. Even for teams with a deep roster, it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. These players may not even play in the big leagues, but could be considered solid options to store away at Triple-A. A ton of players just recently elected minor league free agency too.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team in need of depth. After letting go a handful of Triple-A players via waivers, and also seeing a handful of their own minor leaguers hit minor league free agency, they’d stand to benefit from maybe exploring the minor league free agent market to fill out their depth chart throughout the farm system via non-guaranteed deals. In no way are these players the Pirates’ best options, but I think they would serve as quality depth.

Yonathan Perlaza

This idea comes from Baseball America’s recent article. Yonathan Perlaza was a prospect in the Chicago Cubs’ system. The outfielder has gotten increasingly better at each level of the minor leagues. While he has played in some hitter friendly environments, Perlaza could be a steal on a minor league contract.

Last season for the Cubs’ Triple-A team, Perlaza batted .284/.389/.534 with a .365 wOBA, and 130 wRC+. Perlaza had a respectable 21.9% strikeout rate, but also walked at an outstanding 14% rate. While he isn’t known for his big raw power, Perlaza still went yard 23 times with a .249 ISO. This marks the second season in a row he’s hit 23 home runs with an ISO above .235.

Originally an infielder, Perlaza transitioned to the outfield in 2021 where he has played since. If he could play center field, the Cubs may have called him up this season. But Perlaza is a left field/DH only guy. It basically means he has to hit to be productive. At 5’9” and 165 pounds, Perlaza does not have much raw power. But to his credit, his OPS has gone up every year since 2021.

Seth Corry

Seth Corry was a prospect in the Giant farm system. After a strong 2019 season, Corry appeared on some top 100 prospect lists. But a lack of command development, as well as injuries have hurt his prospect stock. Still, on a non-guaranteed deal, it would be worth looking into the left-hander.

Corry’s 2023 season was limited to 34 innings because he was used in an atypical role. Despite making 16 starts, he never pitched more than four innings. We’ll start with the positives. Corry struck out a third of opponents he faced. He had an immense 62.7% ground ball rate, and only allowed three home runs for an 0.79 HR/9. Now here’s the bad news. Corry had an 11.5% walk rate and 5.03 ERA.

But you could chalk up a lot of Corry’s struggles to bad luck. The lefty had a .456 batting average on balls in play. That is not sustainable, whatsoever. Even though he had an above average home run rate, he also had a 17.9% HR/FB ratio. That’s not to say that Corry is the next big thing if he has a .300 BABIP and 12% HR/FB ratio, but he definitely pitched better than his 5.03 ERA suggests.

Corry has stalled out in the Giants’ system, having never made it to Double-A. Some of that is because of injuries. Corry hasn’t pitched more than 70 innings in a year since 2019. Another reason is that his command has not improved. He still dishes out a decent amount of walks. Corry’s stuff still looks good, however. 

It would be interesting to see Corry take up a bullpen role full time. He definitely seems like a potential reliever, with his solid stuff but poor command. I definitely would not mind the Pirates taking a no-risk flier on Corry and slotting him into the Altoona bullpen.

Andres Chaparro

The Pirates’ first base depth is pretty thin at the major league level. Now with Mason Martin a minor league free agent, the Pirates’ minor league depth at first base got even thinner. Andres Chaparro. may not be the long term solution at first for the Pirates, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a minor league flier and stash him at Triple-A.

Despite getting promoted to the hitter friendly International League, Chaparro wasn’t able to recapture the production he put up in 2022. In 601 plate appearances, the corner infielder batted just .247/.331/.444 with a .340 wOBA. He struck out less than 20% of the time with a 19.8% striekout rate, and had a 10.8% walk rate, but in a league where the average OPS is about .800, Chapparo finished with a 90 wRC+.

But Chaparro looked outstanding in 2022. He was limited to 292 plate appearances, but batted .296/.370/.592 with a .414 wOBA, and 158 wRC+. Chaparro reached the 20 home run mark despite his lack of plate appearances, and had an ISO of .296. It was a great season for Chaparro, and he’s only one year removed from it. He also only struck out 21.8% of the time with a 10.8% walk rate.

While Chaparro is coming off a poor season, he has power, does not strike out much, and walks some. Of course, like all names today, he’s not going to play a regular role in the bigs, but the Pirates need first base depth, and he is one of the better recent minor league players to hit minor league free agency.

James Kaprielian

James Kaprielian was a former first-round pick by the New York Yankees and a top prospect who was traded to the Oakland Athletics in the Sonny Gray trade. Kaprielian’s first two big league seasons in 2021 and 2022 weren’t all that bad. But shoulder injuries held him back in 2023, and was eventually outrighted off the A’s 40-man roster.

In 253.1 innings between 2021 and 2022, Kaprielian owned a 4.16 ERA, 4.49 FIP, and 1.29 WHIP. These weren’t great numbers by any means, but they were about league average. His 20.5% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate were not awe-inspiring, though he did have a respectable 1.24 HR/9 rate for the Athletics.

Kaprielian’s 2023 season did not go as planned. He only pitched 61 innings, and struggled to a 6.34 ERA, 5.07 FIP, and 1.59 WHIP. Kaprielian’s strikeout rate remained constant at 20.5%, though his already unimpressive walk rate got worse, rising to 11.1%. Meanwhile, his home run rate also rose to 1.33. Kaprielian’s season was cut short due to shoulder injuries, and eventually underwent surgery in early August. 

There were some warning signs that the right-hander had something wrong. After averaging out at 94 MPH on the dot in 2022, Kaprielian’s four-seam fastball dropped 1.5 MPH to just 92.5 MPH. Of course, struggling to locate, and overall pitching poorly were also indicators that something had gone sour.

On a non-guaranteed deal, it would totally be worth stashing Kaprielian at Triple-A. This isn’t to say that he’ll break into the Pirates’ starting rotation, but it’s not like Kaprielian has never had major league success. Someone has to fill the roster spots in the minor leagues, and they can't all be occupied with top prospects.