With Spring Coaching underway, Opening Day is true across the nook. With that, the Pittsburgh Pirates won’t be finished with their roster.
The Pittsburgh Pirates presently have a ton of pitchers on their roster, particularly potential bullpen arms that the group will wish to consider. This additionally features a potential commerce chip. Again earlier than the 2018 season, the Pirates signed Richard Rodriguez after being let go by the Baltimore Orioles. Since coming to Pittsburgh, the quickly to be 31-year-old proper handed pitcher has posted a 3.02 ERA over 159 video games.
The presumed nearer for the Pirates makes a whole lot of sense as a commerce piece. He simply accomplished his first yr of arbitration and can earn $1.7 million this season. He has three years of membership management left and will deliver again return. Rodriguez gained’t be a part of the Pirates subsequent window of competition, so buying and selling whereas his worth is at its highest ought to assist deepen the farm. A couple of days in the past, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic wrote about the pitchers in Spring Training. For Rodriguez, Biertempfel wrote:
”The prize for changing into certainly one of former GM Neal Huntington’s most astute free-agent signings is the standing of Pirates reliever most probably to be traded this spring.”
That is an fascinating nugget from Rob, who’s nicely related in Pittsburgh. We’ve heard rumors all offseason about totally different Pirates being commerce candidates with the three most talked about gamers being Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, and Adam Frazier. Rodriguez’s identify hasn’t come up a lot, however he represents an expendable piece for the Pirates. If a pitcher goes down or a group wants so as to add extra depth, Rodriguez is an ideal goal and will present a veteran presence.
Whereas the return gained’t be grand, the Pirates ought to nonetheless get good worth from a Rodriguez return. The proper hander has pitched nicely over the previous few years and is beneath membership management for 3 extra seasons at a low price. Keep tuned to the location for any updates and rumors.
