2:15 pm: left handed Marco Gonzales With today’s game set to begin for the Pirates, Noah Hills of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is among those who will be breaking the news on the X. He is currently on the 60-day injured list and so will need to be reinstated to the 40-man roster, but earlier news broke that is correct. Brent Honeywell Jr. To be nominated for assignment. Unless there are other moves involved, it seems like it will be a simple swap with Gonzales replacing Honeywell.
The 32-year-old Gonzales was acquired from Atlanta in the offseason and began the season in Pittsburgh’s rotation. He made four starts with a 2.65 earned run average before being placed on the injured list in mid-April with an arm strain. He has now returned after missing almost three months of the season.
The lefty has generally been a solid but not underwhelming starter in his career. His ERA in 910 career innings is 4.10, but his strikeout rate is below 17.6%. At his best, he limits damage even if he doesn’t miss a bat. In 2019, he recorded over 200 innings with Seattle with a 3.99 ERA. He punched out only 17% of opponents’ strikeouts but Statcast rated his barrel rate in the 87th percentile of qualified pitchers.
The Bucs will have to make some decisions about how they shape their rotation for the rest of the year. gonzalez and martin perez The somewhat inexperienced group was ideally brought in over the winter to serve as experienced anchors, but so far no one has achieved this. As mentioned, Gonzales only took the ball four times before the lengthy IL stint while Pérez also missed some time due to injury and has made 14 starts with an ERA of 5.15.
Long term, Pittsburgh appears to be well settled in the rotation with a core three Paul Skenes, jared jones And mitch keller, Skenes debuted this year and dominated with a 1.90 ERA through 11 starts, being named the National League starter for the All-Star Game. Jones hasn’t been so impressive, but a 3.56 ERA through 16 starts is still quite a feat for a rookie. Keller is in his sixth season and has a 3.40 ERA and is signed through 2028.
Jones is currently on the injured list and will be unavailable for a few weeks, but the Bucs also have Gonzales, Perez, Skenes and Keller on the books. quinn priest And luis ortiz, The 23-year-old Priester isn’t getting as much hype as Skenes or Jones, but he has a 4.30 ERA for the Bucs this year. The 25-year-old Ortiz has started the year so well in the bullpen that he has carved out a starting schedule for himself. His ERA on the year is 2.95, with five of his last six starts being four innings or longer. Two of his last three appearances have come with six-inning starts and only allowed a combined total of one earned run in those two starts.
That gives Pittsburgh six potential starters for now and seven potential starters when Jones returns. belly falter He is also on the IL with left triceps tendinitis, though it’s unclear when he’ll return. He was having a good season even before the IL stint, with a 4.08 ERA in 17 starts.
The Bucs are currently 45-48 on the year. Despite that fairly unimpressive record, they are just 2.5 games away from a playoff spot in a relatively weak National League wild card race and will have to figure out how to handle these different rotation options. Priester has options and may be in a minor despite his good results. Ortiz could slide back into the bullpen and Pérez also has some relief work on his resume.
With all those early options, it’s possible the Bucs might want to make someone available, even if they aren’t exactly making a sale at the deadline. For example, the rays are recently welcomed shane falcon Came back from his Tommy John layoff and was able to go into business aaron siwale The Brewers are getting a prospect back in return, without significantly downgrading their rotation. Many teams are looking for pitching, but there are few obvious sellers, so perhaps there would be interest in a veteran like Pérez or Gonzales, allowing the Bucs to use their pile of starters to add a position player or reliever without hurting their chances. So to receive. 2024.
Whether or not a trade comes together, the Pittsburgh rotation looks to have plenty of long-term potential among the prospects along with Skane, Jones, Keller, Priester, Falter and Ortiz. braxton ashcraft, there also johan oviedo, who will miss this season due to Tommy John surgery but should return next year. Everyone in that group is controlled until 2027 or beyond.
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