3 Pitchers the Pirates Should Target This Winter

Last week, I took a look at three hitters that I thought the Pirates should sign this winter.

We don't know yet who their off-season targets are.

They can't talk to other teams' free agents yet.

But it was a good thought exercise.

It was three guys who filled needs who the Pirates had been connected to in the past.

They had traits that the Pirates liked.

So let's see if they could impact the 2020-17.

And I think this winter is going to be defined once again by the hitters they bring in.

Whenever you maybe lose Brandon Lowe, whenever you still have some clear weaknesses like against left-handed starting pitching, it's going to be an important winter.

The hitters they bring in are probably going to be the better indicator of how seriously they're taking 20-27.

But the pitching staff could still use a shot in the arm.

There are a couple areas where they could use some depth, use some upside.

So let's do the same exercise, but on the pitching side.

Here are three guys who I think would make the Pirates better.

Good morning and welcome to OffBeat here on North Shore Nine presented by FanDuel.

My name is Alex Stumpf and this is a daily look at your Pittsburgh Pirates.

Whenever I look at this pitching staff, I see there's one clear weakness.

And that's not having another lefty reliever.

Mason Montgomery is going to pitch, the 8th inning, the 9th inning, either be the closer or split the role with Luke Weaver.

You can't throw him out there against a random lefty in the 6th or the 7th inning.

So they need a little help there, especially with Gregory Soto, a free agent at the end of this year.

I, you could always use another, big arm in that bullpen.

You can never have too many.

And I'm also looking at starting pitching depth, even though I know it's murky right now.

Mitch Keller is under contract still.

They could bring him back.

Karin Mlodzinski started last year as a starting pitcher.

The Pirates have not made a decision of if he's a starter or he's a reliever.

If I had to guess, I would assume he's in the bullpen, but we don't know right now what his future with the club holds is up in the air.

But just someone who could ideally be a swing man, I think would be beneficial for this club.

Someone who could start some games, could go multiple innings out of the bullpen whenever they're not a starter.

That would be good.

And I think that's where we're going to start this list.

The swing man I have here is Ryan Yarbrough, who, number one, is a lefty.

Something that this rotation did not have last year.

And he has a couple traits that the Pirates really do like.

The most obvious being a funky arm angle.

He delivers, it's almost like a sidearm delivery.

It's a different look.

It's a different challenge.

It's something that, yes, goes with Evan Sisk's.

But I don't know if you can really count on Evan Sisk to be a main character in your bullpen next year.

So I'm not worried about repeating right there.

But I see someone who has done it all.

He has started.

He has pitched out of the bullpen.

He has had an opener in front of him.

There's a lot of versatility that I think he brings to a staff.

And one of the biggest criticisms around him is he's a fly ball pitcher.

And that's just not scary, I think, at PNC Park.

You're going to give up fly balls to left field with that notch?

Okay.

See if it holds.

The Pirates do take their ballpark into some consideration whenever they're targeting trades, whenever they're targeting free agents.

And that's why they have not backed away from these softer tossing lefties in the past.

Most of whom have had fairly decent success.

It's not the sexiest type of pitcher in general.

But if it's one that's undervalued by the league, that your ballpark can play up their strengths.

Okay.

Go for it.

And what Yarborough does better than anyone in baseball is he gets soft contact.

According to Baseball Savant, average exit velocity of 83.7 miles per hour.

That's exit velocity allowed.

A barrel rate of 3.6 and hard hit of just 25%.

Exit velo and hard hit percentage were in the 100th percentile of all batters.

96th percentile for barrels.

So you've got a fly ball pitcher who doesn't usually give up that many hard hit fly balls.

I trust the notch.

I think that plays a factor here.

So you have someone who has the type of traits, has a funky arm angle.

He's going to be turning 35.

I think the allure of being able to start some games is appealing.

Pitch for the Yankees this last year.

He only started two games.

Pitch 63 and a third innings.

I think if he's willing to still, if he has that itch of like, man, I think I could be a big league starter.

I think there are worse places for him to go than Pittsburgh.

And yeah, there's still questions here of what happens to Mitch Keller?

What happens to Carmen Mlodzinski?

Do the Pirates dare float some of their more enticing?

I'm starting pitchers out if they want to make, a big splash trade.

Like they were willing to listen for Jared Jones in the past.

Now, don't get it misconstrued.

The asking price was astronomical, but they were willing to listen.

We saw last year they were willing to trade Mike Burroughs and they had a very high asking price for him and someone met it.

So I'm looking at starting pitching is not a huge area of need at this given moment.

But if you make a trade or if you just want to bolster the depth, I think this is a good route to go.

The other lefty I have on the list, this one, a more traditional lefty reliever, is Brock Burke, who was picked off the waiver wire two years ago by America's team, the Los Angeles Angels.

And then got flipped to Cincinnati this year, reunited, or I guess not reunited, but, got to link up with Oscar Marin, old friend of the Pirates pitching staff.

And he really did well.

193 batting average allowed on his fastball, 28.7 whiff rate in general.

He gets really good extension, which we know the Pirates do value.

And it all equated to a 230 ERA over 77 games, 74 and a third innings pitch, 74 strikeouts.

Again, someone who gives up more fly balls than ideal, but I'm following the Ryan Yarbrough model here also.

Of a right-handed hitter hitting a fly ball at PNC Park doesn't scare me as much.

And there are some control issues.

12.7% walk rate is high.

No other way to slice it.

But I see someone who has a really good fastball, who can generate some spin, who can attack from that, high arm angle.

There's a lot I like about his game.

And he doesn't give up a ton of hard contact.

If he could get more chases, that'd be good.

That'd be good.

But here's someone who is 30 years old, has never really had a premier bullpen roll.

But I think the Pirates could offer that.

Opportunity is always going to be big for Pirates and free agents.

Other teams are going to offer, larger contracts probably, but the Pirates always have that.

Especially for these guys who are like 30, 31 years old.

Like, hey, come here, build value, then go test free agency after.

I think this is the type of guy who, if you offer, like, that two-year deal, you offer some certainty.

But also that opportunity for him to get another bite at the apple later.

It could be enticing.

A lefty who throws 95, 96, doesn't give up a ton of hard contact.

Yeah, you're going to deal with some control issues at times, but these type of guys are usually in higher demand.

They're not guys who two years ago were on the waiver wire, who then toiled away in Los Angeles' second team and Cincinnati.

There's not a high profile on this guy, and I do think that does impact free agent spending and money.

I think he's a good bang for your buck type guy here.

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Third guy on my list is actually a reunion.

If anyone remembers the 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates, they, towards the end of the year, claimed a reliever named Ennio De Los Santos, who was just part of that roster churn of just bring people in, try to cross the finish line for the year.

Maybe they show something.

He didn't last long.

But then he had a nice little run in Cleveland, and then he went to Houston.

And in Houston, man, everything went bad in Houston this year.

479 ERA over 71 and a third innings.

I don't know.

I look at the stuff, and I look at the metrics, and I'm like, there's more here.

There's more here.

And big picture, one of the big things for me is the changeup.

A pitch that gets dive.

He's able to locate it consistently to that low hand side.

It's a real weapon against left-handers.

He'll throw it often.

And this bullpen, I think, could use a righty who gets left-handers out.

Luke Weaver didn't have a good run with it last year.

Yohan Ramirez struggled throughout the year against left-handers.

Lake Picard did well in his sample size here.

But just in general, if you could get a righty who's not just more a right-on-right guy, can handle left-handers also, that is such a big boost for your bullpen.

And I think Ennio De Los Santos could be that type of guy.

And if you could bump up the changeup rate against right-handers too, I really like that pitch.

I really like that pitch.

37% whiff rate, 181 batting average against, gets the movement profile you want, is able to consistently locate it.

I am buying a pitch in traits.

Someone who still throws 95, who had above-average marks in average exit velo, chase rate, whiff rate, walk rate, barrel rate, hard hit rate.

There's a lot.

There's just too much smoke here for me.

And I know it's not the most uncommon thing.

You will find relievers who have a good savant page, who aren't actually that good.

But I can't help but feel like this guy has more in him than a 479 ERA.

Houston was a pitching disaster this year.

I can't help but wonder if just leaving there is going to be a runoff as ERA as is.

He and Bill Murphy had a little time to get to know each other in 2025.

He was a deadline acquisition that season.

So it's not starting from scratch, something that I think is going to be very beneficial this winter since coaches are not going to be able to be in contact with players during the lockout.

They don't have to start from absolute scratch, absolute zero.

There's a little shorthand already.

And I see someone with a plus fastball, a plus changeup.

I roll the dice there.

I could offer him a leverage role.

He could be the second setup man.

If Mason Montgomery and Luke Weaver are tier one, we're offering you tier two.

Someone who could get some saves, could get some eighth inning work, depending on how much the other two pitchers had thrown, if one of them's struggling.

This is the type of move that I think could elevate the bullpen.

And that whenever, how confident everyone was in Dennis Santana last year, whenever he went sideways, the whole bullpen, faltered.

This is some depth.

This is some upside, some unexplored upside that we haven't seen in a few years, but I think is there.

I don't think he's going to cost a whole lot.

I don't think he's looking for a multi-year deal.

I definitely kick the tires and see if this bullpen could be an even bigger strength.

Thank you so much for listening to OffBeat here on North Shore Nine presented by FanDuel.

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