North Shore Nine

The Pirates have been busy today signing a pair of pitchers and an infielder to minor-league contracts. I know that these aren’t necessarily the moves that Pirates fans have been eagerly awaiting, but they are moves so we’re going to cover them.

The Pirates signed right-handed pitchers Ryder Ryan and Hunter Stratton as well as infielder Sergio Alcántara. Stratton was drafted by the Pirates in the 16th round of the 2017 draft and saw his first big-league action with them in the 2023 season. He pitched twelve innings across eight games and allowed three earned runs while striking out ten and walking three batters. He was non-tendered last month in a move to clear space.

Ryan Ryder was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians (Indians at the time) in the 40th round of the 2014 draft. He is 28 years old and only has one major league inning under his belt. That inning came with the Seattle Mariners on August 11th, 2023 where he didn’t allow a hit but walked one batter while striking out two.

Sergio Alcántara is a 27-year-old infielder from the Dominican Republic. He plays shortstop, second base, and third base. From 2020 to 2022 he appeared in 192 games between four different teams (Tigers, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Padres). He has a career .209/.281/.343 slash line.

All three players will get a non-roster invitation to Spring Training.