The Pirates have signed right-hander Yerry Rodriguez to a minor league deal, in keeping with a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC2. Alexander provides that Rodriguez’s deal comes with an invitation to large league Spring Coaching.
Rodriguez, 27, has discovered enjoying time within the majors in every of the final three seasons. After spending the sooner years of his minor league profession as a beginning pitcher, a brutal stint on the Triple-A stage in 2021 brought on him to maneuver to reduction, and he posted a stable 4.27 ERA on the stage in 2022. Regardless of that first rate determine, he walked an elevated 11.9% of batters confronted, although he fanned a stable 27.2% of opponents to make up considerably for his wildness. Rodriguez’s first rate outcomes on the highest stage of the minors prompted a call-up to the foremost leagues, although his first cup of espresso within the majors lasted only one scoreless inning.
The best-hander then started to shuttle between the majors and minors extra commonly in 2023, although sadly his outcomes took a flip for the more serious at each ranges. At Triple-A, Rodriguez’s ERA ballooned as much as 5.03 although his strikeout (29%) and stroll (12%) charges held extra much less regular relative to the earlier yr. His leads to the majors have been nothing wanting disastrous, nevertheless, because the righty was shelled to the tune of a 7.90 ERA as he surrendered 20 hits and 6 walks in simply 13 2/3 innings of labor. Even his strikeout fee dipped to simply 22.7%, which whereas stable sufficient will not be practically excessive sufficient to justify Rodriguez’s wildness.
These difficulties in 2023 left Rodriguez to enter 2024 in a precarious place. Sadly, he didn’t handle to make a lot of a case for himself with the Rangers this yr as he as soon as once more struggled in each the foremost and minor leagues. With the large league membership, Rodriguez posted a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings of labor this yr whereas strolling (11) practically as many batters as he struck out (12). In the meantime, his numbers for Triple-A Spherical Rock have been even practically as unhealthy as he surrendered a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings. Whereas he struck out a formidable 33.3% of opponents confronted, that wasn’t sufficient to counterbalance an enormous 15.2% stroll fee.
Rodriguez’s struggled finally led the Rangers to ship him to the Blue Jays in late June of this yr. With the Jays, Rodriguez discovered some success at Triple-A in a small pattern dimension as he posted a 1.35 ERA in 6 2/3 frames, however his management issues remained as he walked and whopping 9 batters whereas hanging out ten. These stable outcomes didn’t translate over to the majors, nevertheless, because the right-hander was torched to the tune of a 15.43 ERA in 4 appearances within the majors for Toronto this yr as he surrendered 9 hits (together with two homers) in simply 4 2/3 innings. That led the membership to designate him for project again in September, leaving him to be outrighted to the minors and ultimately elect free company.
Now that he’s signed on with Pittsburgh, he’ll determine to enter Spring Coaching with an opportunity to earn a spot within the Pirates bullpen to open the season. Whereas he’s struggled by way of outcomes at each the foremost and minor league ranges lately, the right-hander does have youth on his facet having simply celebrated his twenty seventh birthday. What’s extra, the righty nonetheless possesses high-end stuff together with a 96.8mph common on his fastball. If the Pirates may also help him work out his severe issues with command, it’s not laborious to think about him being a viable reliever for the membership in 2025.
