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Pirates Win Arbitration Hearing Over Johan Oviedo

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The Pirates won their arbitration hearing against right-hander Johan Oviedo, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’ll be paid the $850K figure submitted by the team for the upcoming season, rather than the $1.15MM figure he and his camp submitted.

Oviedo, 27 in March, missed the entire 2024 season following Tommy John surgery. Prior to that injury, he’d stepped up and solidified himself as a viable fourth starter in Pittsburgh’s rotation. The right-hander, acquired from the division-rival Cardinals in the trade sending Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton to St. Louis, posted a 4.15 ERA in 39 starts from 2022-23, totaling 208 1/3 innings. That included a 2023 campaign in which he tied Mitch Keller for the team lead with 32 starts and finished second (also to Keller) with 177 2/3 innings pitched.

The composition of the Pirates’ rotation has changed greatly since Oviedo went under the knife. Ballyhooed prospects Paul Skenes and Jared Jones have made their big league debuts and cemented themselves in the team’s plans — Skenes in particular. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick burst onto the scene with 133 innings of 1.96 ERA ball last year, winning National League Rookie of the Year honors and finishing the season as a Cy Young finalist. Skenes, Jones and Keller now make up an enviable top three and are joined by southpaw Bailey Falter, who had something of a breakout himself last year (142 1/3 innings, 4.43 ERA).

Oviedo will head into the 2025 season as a favorite for the fifth spot in the rotation, but he may have to earn that with a healthy and effective spring showing, as he still has a minor league option remaining. The Bucs are deep in starting pitching talent, with prospects Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft already on the 40-man roster and a pair of even more highly regarded arms — Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington — not on the 40-man but ticketed for Triple-A work to begin the season.

This was Oviedo’s first trip through the arbitration process. His camp surely sought a seven-figure payday based on the solid nature of his work pre-injury, but they faced a notable roadblock in that endeavor after Oviedo’s injury cost him the entirety of his platform season. He’ll remain under team control via arbitration through the 2027 campaign.

MLBTR Podcast: Ryan Pressly To The Cubs, Bregman’s Future, And Jurickson Profar

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will Ben Cherington get the Pirates a right fielder before spring training? (21:10)
  • What is holding up Jack Flaherty’s market? (23:15)
  • Why is the MLB offseason so different from the other sports? (29:00)
  • Is there a common thread with the unsigned free agents? (32:50)
  • Brett Baty to the Padres and Luis Arráez to the Mets, straight up, no money changing hands. Who says no? (38:45)
  • News of the Pirates signing Adam Frazier breaks during recording (39:25)
  • Back to the Baty-Arráez question (39:50)
  • Should the Cubs get Michael King from the Padres and what would the cost be? (42:50)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Pirates Designate Elvis Alvarado For Assignment

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The Pirates announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Elvis Alvarado for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to infielder/outfielder Adam Frazier, whose previously reported one-year deal to return to his original organization has now been formally announced by the team.

Alvarado, 26 next month, has yet to make his big league debut. He signed the with Pirates as a free agent just over six weeks ago but did so on a split major league deal, giving him separate salaries in the majors and minors (paid out in prorated fashion based on where he’s pitching). Today’s DFA doesn’t necessarily preclude him from pitching in the majors, but he’ll first have to clear waivers and, if he does, pitch his way onto the MLB roster either this spring or at some point during the regular season.

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Nationals, Alvarado has also pitched with the Mariners, Tigers and Marlins organizations. He spent the bulk of the 2024 campaign with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville, where he logged a 2.79 ERA and fanned a whopping 33.1% of his opponents in 48 1/3 innings pitched. However, command issues that Alvarado had experienced in the lower minors and looked to have moved past instead resurfaced; he issued a free pass to a glaring 17.8% of his opponents and plunked five of the 214 batters he faced as well. Overall, 20.1% of his opponents reached base without putting a ball in play.

Alvarado has a major fastball, averaging a blazing 98 mph on the pitch last season and coupling it with an 86.6 mph slider (on average) and 96.1 mph sinker (on average). He threw that heater nearly three quarters of the time, generally overpowering opponents with the pitch but also displaying scattershot command of the strike zone.

The Pirates will have five days to trade Alvarado. He’d have to be placed on waivers at that point, as waivers are a 48-hour process and the DFA window lasts only seven days. If he’s not traded, that split contract he signed will make it likelier that he’s able to pass through waivers. Most teams likely weren’t willing to commit a 40-man spot to Alvarado — and those that were may not have offered as compelling a package in terms of minor league salary. If he does clear, he’ll likely be in camp as a non-roster invitee and hope to impress enough to get a big league bullpen job.

Pirates Sign Adam Frazier

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Jan. 29: The Pirates formally announced their reunion with Frazier this morning.

Jan. 28: Adam Frazier is headed back to the Pirates. The McKinnis Sports client is reportedly in agreement with his old club on a one-year, $1.525MM contract. The team has yet to announce the signing.

Frazier, now 33 years old, had a strong six-year run with the Buccos to begin his career, slashing a combined .283/.346/.420 in 2232 plate appearances while posting quality overall defensive grades at both second base and in left field.

That stretch culminated with a huge .324/.388/.448 slash in the first half of the ’21 season, with Frazier logging a career-low 10.7% strikeout rate along the way. That resulted in an All-Star nod for Frazier and helped ramp up trade interest while the Pirates operated as deadline sellers. The Padres wound up acquiring Frazier, who was controllable through the 2022 season, in exchange for outfielder Jack Suwinski, utilityman Tucupita Marcano and righty Michell Miliano.

Things didn’t pan out for Frazier in San Diego, however, and he’s never gotten his bat back on track. While he hit for a decent average down the stretch with the Friars, his walk rate and already limited power output tumbled. In 211 plate appearances, he batted .267/.327/.335 — about 13% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. Rather than pay him a raise in arbitration that winter, the Padres traded him to the Mariners, where his offensive struggles continued.

In three and a half seasons since leaving the Pirates, Frazier has suited up for the Padres, Mariners, Orioles and Royals. That covers a span of 1562 plate appearances, during which Frazier sports a tepid .236/.301/.336 batting line (82 wRC+). His 2024 season in Kansas City was the worst of his career; he batted only .202/.282/.294 in 294 plate appearances with the Royals last year and fanned in a career-worst 20.1% of his plate appearances.

Though his offense has continued to flounder, Frazier posted solid defensive grades at second base and in the outfield corners last year. His strikeout rate may have been a career-high but was still a couple percentage points lower than league-average, while his 7.5% walk rate was within one percentage point of average. The Pirates have not only a righty-heavy bench mix but more broadly a roster and lineup that skews right-handed. Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz and switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds are the only lefty bats assured of frequent playing time in Pittsburgh. Frazier will give the Pirates a familiar face and a contact-oriented left-handed bat to slot into the bench group.

With Pittsburgh still facing uncertainty at both second base and in right field, Frazier is a cheap backup plan at either spot. He’s not going to be Plan A for the Pirates at either position, but he can step in at second base if a group of infielders including Nick Yorke, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo and Liover Peguero struggle and force versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa into regular work at shortstop. Reynolds is locked into one outfield corner, but the other options on the 40-man roster right now include Suwinski (who struggled immensely in 2024), Billy Cook and out-of-options Joshua Palacios.

Frazier is the latest in a characteristically budget-friendly string of free agent signings for the Pirates. Pittsburgh has brought franchise icon Andrew McCutchen back on another one-year, $5MM contract — his third straight $5MM deal with the Bucs — which stands as their largest financial expenditure of the winter. The Pirates have also added lefties Caleb Ferguson ($3MM) and Tim Mayza ($1.15MM) on one-year deals, although Mayza’s deal was just agreed to yesterday and has yet to be formally announced by the team. RosterResource currently projects an $80.5MM payroll, including Frazier and Mayza, with about $104MM of CBT obligations. The Pirates have long been rumored to be seeking a corner outfield upgrade but have yet to bring in any outside help to fill that glaring need.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Pirates were in agreement with Frazier on a major league deal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the $1.525MM salary.

Pirates, Ryan Borucki Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent lefty Ryan Borucki, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Borucki, a client of ISE Baseball, will earn a $1.15MM base salary (with additional incentives available) if he makes the big league roster. He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

This will be Borucki’s third straight season in Pittsburgh. The Bucs originally signed the former Blue Jays southpaw to a minor league deal prior to the 2023 season. He was selected to the big league roster that May and stuck through the end of the 2024 season.

Borucki was excellent during his first season as a Pirate, logging 40 1/3 innings from the point of his original call to the majors that season and turning in a sharp 2.45 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate against a superlative 2.6% walk rate. He kept the ball on the ground at a better-than-average 45.9% clip, only allowed 0.89 HR/9 and was effective against both lefties (.149/.230/.254) and righties (.213/.224/.373).

Health troubles ruined Borucki’s 2024 campaign, however. He agreed to a $1.6MM deal avoiding arbitration, but a triceps issue limited him to only 11 innings. He opened the year with three shutout frames (five strikeouts, no walks) before being tagged for two runs in one-third of an inning and promptly heading to the injured list for what wound up being nearly five months. Upon returning in September, Borucki was roughed up for seven runs in 7 2/3 innings. He finished out the season with an ugly 7.36 earned run average in that small sample of 11 injury-marred innings.

Now back with the Bucs, Borucki will head to camp and look to work his way back into the team’s bullpen plans. The Pirates have added a pair of low-cost left-handed bullpen options this winter in Caleb Ferguson ($3MM) and Tim Mayza (just yesterday, at $1.15MM). They also have out-of-options former top prospect Joey Wentz, whom they picked up on a waiver claim and who pitched quite well for them in 12 innings down the stretch last year.

Borucki is the only veteran lefty who’ll be in camp on as a non-roster invitee. As such, in the event of injuries and/or significant struggles from that trio of southpaws on the 40-man roster, he could be one of the first men up — particularly since he’s already familiar with the organization and the bulk of the coaching staff.

Pirates To Sign Tim Mayza

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7:26pm: It’s a one-year, $1.15MM deal, Stumpf reports.

6:23pm: The Pirates are in agreement with lefty reliever Tim Mayza on a major league contract, reports Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. The signing is pending a physical for the Ballengee Group client. Pittsburgh has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move when the deal is finalized.

Mayza, who turned 33 a few weeks ago, was a 12th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2013. He spent over a decade in the Toronto organization. The southpaw got to the big leagues in 2017 and pitched in parts of seven seasons. He had a quietly strong run between 2021-23, combining for a 2.67 earned run average while striking out nearly a quarter of opposing hitters through 155 innings. Mayza limited same-handed batters to a .203/.238/.273 slash in 270 plate appearances over that stretch. He kept the ball on the ground at a huge 58-59% clip in all three seasons.

His fortunes turned sharply last year. Mayza took the ball for the Jays 35 times. Opponents blitzed him for more than eight earned runs per nine innings. His strikeout rate plummeted to 13.2%, while the ground-balls fell to a modest 39.1% rate. There weren’t many signs of encouragement in either the results nor the underlying profile. Toronto designated him for assignment in late June, a disappointing end to his tenure.

Mayza cleared waivers and was granted his release. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees not long thereafter. He fired 8 1/3 innings of two-run ball in Triple-A to earn a call up in the middle of August. The Yanks gave him 15 appearances, mostly in low-leverage situations, for the final six weeks of the regular season.

The results were dramatically improved from his early-season work but not back to his 2021-23 heights. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) through 18 frames. He struck out a modest 16.4% of batters faced. Mayza added 2 1/3 scoreless frames in mop-up situations during New York’s pennant run — including a scoreless inning to wrap up their Game 4 win in the World Series. The Yankees non-tendered him in lieu of a projected $4MM salary for his final year of arbitration.

Mayza, like many situational lefties, relies on a sinker-slider combination. His sinker sat in the 93-94 MPH range during his best seasons in Toronto. The velocity was down about two ticks early last season. Mayza rediscovered it during his time in the Bronx, sitting around 93.5 MPH during his final two months. That didn’t result in a dramatic uptick in whiffs, though Mayza recaptured much of his prior ground-ball acumen. He kept the ball on the ground at a strong 55.4% clip during his time with the Yankees.

While not quite a return to form, Mayza showed enough late in the season for the Pirates to give him a roster spot. He has over five years of service time and cannot be sent to the minors without his consent. The major league deal indicates he’s very likely to be in Derek Shelton’s season-opening bullpen. He joins fellow free agent signee Caleb Ferguson (another former Yankee) in that regard. The only other lefty reliever on the 40-man roster is long man Joey Wentz. He’s out of options, so he’ll also need to stick on the MLB roster or be made available to other teams via trade or waivers.

Financial terms have not been revealed. It’ll be a modest investment, very likely less than the $4MM arbitration projection. RosterResource calculates the Bucs’ payroll around $79MM. They ended last season in the $87MM range.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Tristan Gray Elects Free Agency

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4:21pm: Gray has indeed opted free agency. He can now sign with any club.

2:04pm: Pirates infielder Tristan Gray cleared waivers following last week’s DFA, MLBTR has learned. As a player with a prior outright assignment, he’ll have the option of rejecting a second outright in favor of free agency, if he chooses to do so. If he accepts an outright assignment, he’d likely be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis and be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Gray, 29 in March, landed with the Bucs back on Halloween when they claimed him off waivers from the A’s. Over the past calendar year, Gray has signed as a minor league free agent with the Marlins, been selected to the majors, and claimed off waivers by the A’s and Pirates.

The Pirates were Gray’s original organization, selecting him in the 13th round back in 2017. He was traded to the Rays less than a year later as part of the deal bringing outfielder Corey Dickerson to Pittsburgh. He went on to spend parts of six seasons the Rays organization, briefly making his MLB debut with Tampa Bay in 2023. He only appeared in two games and tallied five plate appearances, but Gray made the most of that tiny look when he popped his first big league homer off righty Jorge Lopez. Gray totaled 31 plate appearances between the Marlins and A’s in 2024 and went 3-for-28 with a double.

While he hasn’t hit much in a tiny big league sample, Gray has shown plenty of pop in the upper minors. He swatted 33 homers with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A club in 2022 and connected on another 30 in 2023. He’s played in parts of four seasons in Triple-A and posted a combined .238/.306/.472 batting line.

Gray has played all four infield positions in his professional career, though shortstop has been the most frequent, with 2477 innings there. The Marlins and A’s played him at the corners exclusively in 2024, however. Overall, Gray has 1439 professional innings at third base, 1312 at second base and 911 at first base. He’s a versatile left-handed bat with some platoon issues and strikeout concerns but plenty of pop and a better-than-average walk rate in each of the past two Triple-A campaigns.

MLBTR originally reported that Gray had already been assigned outright to Triple-A, which is not accurate. We regret the error.

Pirates Agree To Minor League Deals With DJ Stewart, Ryder Ryan

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The Pirates have agreed to minor league deals with outfielder DJ Stewart and right-hander Ryder Ryan. Stewart’s deal was first reported by Mike Mayer of Metsmerized while Ryan’s was first reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Stewart is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Stewart, 31, spent the past two years with the Mets. He had a nice run for them in 2023, hitting 11 home runs in just 185 plate appearances. He struck out at a 30.3% clip but the power was enough to get him back on the team in 2024. This past year, he was only able to put the ball over the fence five times in 194 trips to the plate. He drew walks at a stellar clip of 16% but hit .177/.325/.297 overall, getting outrighted at season’s end.

When combined with his tenure as an Oriole, Stewart has 1,001 major league plate appearances now. His 12.8% walk rate is strong but he’s also been punched out at a 27.1% clip. Thanks to the free passes and his 42 home runs, he’s been a decent hitter in spite of the strikeouts. His career line of .212/.328/.401 leads to a 102 wRC+, indicating he’s been 2% better than league average on the whole.

Despite the solid overall offense, there are limits to his overall profile. Ideally, he is deployed as a platoon bat. The lefty swinger has a .214/.332/.430 line and 110 wRC+ against righties, compared to a .204/.309/.270 line and 66 wRC+ against southpaws. He’s not a burner on the basepaths and his defense has received poor grades.

Still, he’s a sensible enough flier for the Pirates. They have two outfield spots spoken for between Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz, though one corner is fairly wide open. Guys like Joshua Palacios, Billy Cook, Jack Suwinski and Ji Hwan Bae are on the roster but none of them are guaranteed a regular role and it’s entirely possible that someone like Stewart could outplay them, at least for a strong-side platoon gig. If Stewart gets a spot, he’s out of options but has less than four years of service time, meaning he could be retained beyond this year via arbitration if he still has a roster spot at season’s end.

Ryan, 30 in May, has a fairly limited track record at the major league level. He has 16 appearances, 15 of which came with the Bucs last year. He has allowed 5.40 earned runs per nine innings in his small sample of 21 2/3 career frames. The Pirates outrighted him off the roster in August and he elected free agency at season’s end. Over the past four years, Ryan has thrown 200 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.31 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate.

He’ll provide the club with some non-roster bullpen depth. If he gets added to the roster at any point, he still has one option year remaining and could therefore be shuttled to Triple-A and back fairly freely.

Pirates Designate Tristan Gray For Assignment

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The Pirates designated infielder Tristan Gray for assignment, the team informed reporters (including Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Pittsburgh had not officially added Andrew McCutchen to their 40-man roster until this evening, so they needed to open a spot. McCutchen re-signed on a $5MM deal last month.

Pittsburgh claimed Gray off waivers from the A’s in the first few days of the offseason. The 28-year-old had spent a couple months on the A’s, as they’d only claimed him from the Marlins at the end of August. Gray has suited up for both those teams and had a brief stint on the Rays in 2023. Despite playing for a trio of clubs, he has just 17 games of MLB experience. He has hit .152 with one homer in 36 plate appearances.

The lefty-hitting Gray has a much more extensive minor league track record. The Rice product has taken nearly 1800 trips to the dish across four Triple-A seasons. Gray has hit .238/.306/.472 with 90 home runs in 443 games at the top minor league level. Strikeouts have kept him from getting an extended MLB look, as he has fanned in nearly 30% of his Triple-A plate appearances.

Gray has some power and a decent amount of defensive versatility. He has upwards of 1000 minor league frames at each of shortstop, second base and third base. Gray has just over 900 professional innings at first base as well. He has mostly played the corner infield in his limited big league time. He’s likely to end up on waivers again this week. Gray has been outrighted once in his career, so he’d have the ability to elect minor league free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Andrew Knapp Announces Retirement

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Longtime major league catcher Andrew Knapp announced his retirement as a player on his Instagram page. “I completely dedicated my life to the game, and the game blessed me with so much,” he said. “Baseball has given me relationships that I will have for the rest of my life. It has taught be how to fail and how to persevere. It has taught me how to be confident but humble. It has taught me that people will remember you more because of what kind of person you are rather than what kind of player you were.” He then goes on to thank the many people that helped him along the way, including his agent, his teammates and particularly his family members.

Knapp, now 33, was once a notable prospect. The son of minor leaguer Mike Knapp, the younger Knapp showed enough promise at a young age to get drafted by the Athletics out of high school, selected in the 41st round in 2010. But Knapp decided to attend Berkeley instead, becoming a full-time catcher who hit from both sides of the plate. That led to the Phillies taking him in the second round of the 2013 draft and signing Knapp with a bonus of just over $1MM.

His development was slowed somewhat by Tommy John surgery, which he required late in 2013, but he still put up strong offensive numbers. He slashed .280/.355/.435 in 1,173 minor league plate appearances from 2013 to 2015, production that led to a wRC+ of 132. That offense, especially as a switch-hitter, gave Knapp some prospect helium. Going into 2016, Baseball America gave him a spot at the back of their top 100, putting him at #96.

Unfortunately, his major league offense never quite matched his production on the farm. He showed a bit of potential in his 2017 debut, producing a line of .257/.368/.368. His 27.5% strikeout rate was a bit high but he also drew walks at a strong clip of 15.2%. The overall production led to a wRC+ of 94, a bit below average overall but decent for a catcher.

He couldn’t maintain that level of performance, however. He got into at least 33 games for the Phils in five straight seasons from 2017 to 2021 but produced a combined line of .214/.314/.322 over that time, leading to a 72 wRC+. His 11.9% walk rate was a solid mark but his 31.7% strikeout rate was quite high. That includes a huge .278/.404/.444 showing in 2020, though that was a small sample of 89 plate appearances and he crashed back to earth with a .152/.215/.214 line in 2021.

Knapp’s glovework was never especially well regarded, with outlets like Baseball Prospectus and Statcast giving him negative grades for his framing, blocking and throwing. As a prospect, it was hoped that his offense could compensate for that, though it didn’t quite come to pass.

The Phils decided to move on after that rough showing from Knapp in 2021, outrighting him off the roster, which kicked off the journeyman phase of his career. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds going into 2022 but didn’t make the club out of camp. That led to him joining the Pirates, Mariners and Giants, though he only got into 16 major league games between those three teams that year. In 2023, minor league deals with the Tigers and Astros didn’t lead back to the big leagues. In 2024, he was with the Rangers on a minor league through the end of June. After being released, he got a major league deal with the Giants, but he was designated for assignment less than a week later after getting into three games. He was outrighted off the roster and elected free agency at season’s end.

Knapp has now decided to hang up his spikes and move onto the next phase of his life. His retirement statement didn’t lay out his career plans, though he has previously expressed a desire to become a manager someday, so perhaps he could start making moves on that trajectory now. He retires with 158 hits in 756 at-bats, including 31 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs. He scored 83 runs and drove in 66. We at MLBTR congratulate Knapp on carving out a major league career and wish him the best on whatever comes next.

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