Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential Replacements For Angel Perdomo's Bullpen Role

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost left-handed reliever Angel Perdomo to Tommy John surgery, and then waivers to the Braves, leaving a hole in the bullpen. But who are some potential replacements for him?

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates found what seemed to be a diamond in the rough in Angel Perdomo. The lefty signed a minor league deal in February, and in 29 innings, Perdomo had a 3.72 ERA, 3.01 FIP, and 1.10 WHIP with an astounding 37.6% strikeout rate. But Perdomo’s season came to an abrupt end. After surrendering two earned runs and making two outs, Perdomo was placed on the IL with an elbow injury.

The Pirates weren’t specific on Perdomo’s condition at the time, but the team would place him on waivers and claimed by the Atlanta Braves, which was surprising to most given that he pitched well last year and was projected to return in 2024. But unbeknownst to fans, Perdomo had undergone Tommy John surgery in October, so his earliest return date is 2026, assuming he heals well without any setbacks.

But Perdomo’s surgery and proceeding waiver claim left a hole in the Pirates’ bullpen: a second, decent left-handed reliever. The Pirates have a solid foundation in the bullpen already set with David Bednar, Darui Moreta, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Ryan Borucki, the other left-handed reliever who was also a diamond in the rough find by the Pirates. But what are the Pirates’ options to replace Perdomo?

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Brent Suter

One of the safest options on the free agent market is Brent Suter. Last season, the soft-tossing lefty owned a 3.38 ERA, 3.44 FIP, and 1.30 WHIP in 69.2 innings. Suter is all about inducing soft contact. He was in the 97th+ percentile of exit velocity (84 MPH), barrel rate (3.3%), and hard-hit rate (26.3%). It also helps that he consistently posts above-average groundball rates and induced grounders at a 46.5% rate last year. This helps make up for his poor 18.8% strikeout rate, and about league-average 8.6% walk rate. Of course, with a lot of soft contact and ground balls, he’s great at limiting home runs, and he clocked in with a 0.39 HR/9.

Suter is the safe option because of how durable he is. Among pitchers who have started less than five games over the last three years, Suter’s 209.1 innings pitched is the fifth most in baseball. He’s a guaranteed 65-70 frames. For a Pirates pitching staff that needs some stability and innings, Suter may be one of the best options, even if he is more of a middle reliever than a high-leverage arm.

Hoby Milner

I’ve already discussed Hoby Milner as a potential trade target, and there are a lot of reasons for that. Last year, Milner had a 1.82 ERA, the 5th lowest ERA among any reliever who threw at least 60 innings. Milner also had a 3.13 FIP and 0.96 WHIP in a grand total of 64.1 frames. Milner’s 5.2% walk rate was also one of the best in the league, which once again ranked 5th. On top of that, he had an above-average 23.4% strikeout rate.

The side-arm lefty gets soft contact at a high rate and was in the 91st percentile of exit velocity at 86.6 MPH. He also had a strong 6.2% barrel rate (78th percentile) and a 35.4% hard-hit rate (75th percentile). He is also a durable arm, having tossed 129 innings the last two seasons with an ERA+ of 150. Milner is controlled via arbitration for two more years, and is only projected to make $1.7 million next year.

Yuki Matsui

I think Suter and Milner are very realistic options. But let’s get a little more bold with the last external player the Pirates could pursue. That is Yuki Matsui. Matsui is a veteran lefty out of the NBP who has established himself as one of the best closing pitchers in Japan. Last year, Matsui owned a 1.57 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and a K:BB ratio of 5.54. His 5.9% walk rate is by far a career-best, with his 32.7% strikeout rate clocking in around average for his career norms. The lefty has always been good at limiting the home run and has only allowed three long balls in 57.1 innings.

Matsui is a late-inning/high-leverage arm, but he’s not your prototypical power reliever. Matsui is a stout 5’8”, 167 pounds. There have only been four players in the last decade to stand at 5’8” or shorter and to have thrown 30+ inning pitched. His fastball only plays around 92-94 MPH. However, don’t underestimate him. His fastball plays way up because of its backspin, fighting off gravity very well. He also has a bevy of secondaries that look great. His splitter is a potential plus offering, and his slider is a third above-average pitch.

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Nick Dombkowski

The Pirates signed Nick Dombkowski as an undrafted free agent after the 2021 draft. He spent most of the year at Double-A Altoona, where he pitched to a 3.71 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP but a poor 4.89 FIP in 85 innings as a long-relief/swingman-type pitcher. Dombkowski struck out just 16.3% of the batters he faced with a 1.38 HR/9 rate, however he did have a quality 7.3% walk rate. Dombkowski made one appearance at Triple-A but allowed six earned runs in three innings.

Domkowski does not throw hard, and his fastball only averages out around 89-90 MPH. His slider is an average to slightly above average pitch which sits in the low-80s. The best offering Domkowski has is his changeup, a pitch that sits around 79-80 MPH, but with about 1550 RPM of spin. He does command his stuff well and is more of a flyball pitcher. He projects as a long-relief spot starter.

Jose Hernandez

Jose Hernandez was a Rule 5 pick by the Pirates last year. His rookie season had some ups and downs, but overall was solid for being a Rule 5 selection. Hernandez pitched to a strong 2.63 ERA, 3.40 FIP, and 1.02 WHIP in the first half of the season. But an injury-laden July was the start of his second-half struggles, as he owned just a 7.71 ERA, 5.74 FIP, and 1.76 WHIP in the second half of the season.

Hernandez’s stuff looked great, having a high-backspin fastball with a slider that held opponents to just a .216 wOBA, and 39.5% whiff rate. His change-up, however, was only used against same-handed batters. Hernandez probably has an inside track on the role as of right now. His quality first half definitely got him another look. But now that the Pirates have the option to send him to Triple-A, they could get him some extra work at Indianapolis.