Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Reliever to a Minor League Deal

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right-handed pitcher Ben Heller to a minor league contract

Monday night, there were reports that the Pittsburgh Pirates had reached a deal with right-handed pitcher Ben Heller. Tuesday morning, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed the two sides have indeed come to an agreement. The deal between the Pirates and Heller is a minor league deal.

Heller pitched 18.2 innings in 19 relief appearances with the Atlanta Braves in 2023. He posted a 3.86 ERA, 5.02 FIP, 13.4% walk rate, and a 19.5% strikeout rate. Opposing batters hit .232 off of Heller with 2 home runs (0.96 HR/9). He also hit a pair of batters with 4 wild pitches.

The 32-year-old righty has pitched 50.0 innings in 50 career MLB appearances. Heller owns a 3.02 ERA, 5.36 FIP, 11.8% walk rate, and a 20.9% strikeout rate in his MLB career. In addition to the Braves, he has also pitched in the majors with the New York Yankees. He has a 0.1 career WAR And a -0.4 fWAR.

Heller spent most of his 2023 season split between the Triple-A squads of the Braves and Tampa Bay Rays. He posted a 3.27 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 7.6% walk rate, and a 28.9% strikeout rate in 44.0 innings pitched at the Triple-A level in 2023.

Even though it is a minor league deal, Heller should have a legitimate chance to make the Pirate bullpen out of spring training. David Bednar, Carmen Mlodzinski, Dauri Moreta, Colin Holderman, and Ryan Borucki should have Opening Day bullpen spots locked up heading into camp, but that still leaves three spots. Heller should be in competition for one of these three spots.