The Pirates are moving right-hander Roansy Contreras to the bullpen, Derek Shelton told reporters after tonight’s Spring Training contest (X link via MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf). While the Pittsburgh manager left open the possibility of giving Contreras another rotation look down the line, he’s viewed as a reliever for the moment.
At this time last year, the 24-year-old looked like one of the more promising starting pitchers in the organization. The Bucs had made him the arguable centerpiece of their 2021 trade return from the Yankees for Jameson Taillon. Contreras was viewed as a fringe Top 100-caliber prospect before turning in a solid ’22 campaign as a rookie. Contreras held a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation for a good portion of that season. He tossed 95 innings of 3.79 ERA ball with a strikeout and walk profile that wasn’t far off league average.
That showing earned him a spot in last year’s rotation. Contreras’ raw stuff and results all backed up, though, and he was tagged for 6.59 earned runs per nine innings. His strikeout rate dropped nearly three percentage points, sitting at a middling 18.8% clip. His walk rate went slightly up. The average velocity on his four-seam fastball ticked down from 95.8 MPH to 94.6 MPH. Contreras’ slider remained an effective offering, although he even lost a few percentage points on that pitch’s swing-and-miss rate.
As the struggles mounted, the Bucs first kicked him to the bullpen and eventually back to the minors. He made eight appearances in Triple-A, where he had an ERA just below 5.00 in a hitter-friendly league. The Pirates even assigned him back to their Florida complex for a few weeks to work through his mechanics outside of a game setting.
Those paths aren’t on the table this year. Last season burned Contreras’ final minor league option. The Pirates can no longer send him down without first exposing him to waivers, where he’d very likely be claimed. If they don’t want to risk losing him, they need to keep him in the majors. Yet Contreras’ performance this spring has been far from encouraging.
He has started three of five outings in exhibition play but only gotten through 12 1/3 innings. Contreras has issued 13 walks against nine strikeouts while allowing nine runs. His fastball velocity has sat in the 94-95 MPH range, but the inability to find the strike zone is alarming. It would’ve been difficult to justify giving him a spot in the MLB rotation coming off that kind of performance. A relief role will afford Shelton some flexibility in keeping Contreras out of high-leverage spots while he tries to recapture the form that he’d shown through 2022.
In other Bucs news, the team announced they’ve optioned Nick Gonzales to Triple-A Indianapolis. That takes him out of the mix in the camp battle for the Opening Day second base job. The former #7 overall pick had a middling spring, hitting .235/.278/.412 over 36 plate appearances. Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo are the top options to start at the keystone. They’ve each hit well in camp. Peguero has a .292/.370/.458 line in 11 games, while Triolo has turned in a .344/.432/.469 mark over 12 contests.
No surprises here. Anxious to see who wins the final 2 spots in the rotation.
Jones and Ortiz are my guesses
as long as it isn’t Falter
His name says it all.
3 you mean? Gonzales to dl he needs more work! Looks bad.
Remember how Jose Quintana looked 2 years ago in spring… and then how he looked as soon as the season started… with Gonzales’ track record, I’d give him at least 4-5 regular season starts.
He looks like a vet pitching in Spring Training to me: a guy who’s working on specific things without much attention to results. Vets can afford to do that when their spot on the team is assured, versus younger guys (Jones, Priester, Ortiz, Contreras) having to focus completely on results to make the team. I doubt anyone rooting for the Yankees expects the 3-HR version of Stanton from the other day to be what they actually get for the season, nor should we expect that Gonzales won’t be better than his last outing.
@Robert Mine too, although, they may wait until the date that buys them another full year of his services – whenever that is. I haven’t cracked the code on those dates. If anyone else has, please enlighten me.
Just looked it up under service time manipulation and cracked the code. Most of you probably already know, but if a player reaches 172 days service time in a given year, that counts as a full year towards the 6 years of team control. A typical year is 187 days (162 games). So if a team waits 16 days to call up a player, he’ll only be credited with 171 days of service and, therefore, will not get credit for a year toward the 6 years of team control.
In the case of the Pirates and Jones and Skenes, waiting 16 days or a little more probably makes sense, even if it isn’t in the best interests of those players.
Everybody is speaking to service time manipulation for Skenes. However there’s also his inning limit because he is only in his first year in professional baseball. He had a total of 125ish innings last year.
Agreed, ElGaupo, on Skenes service time and innings management. He obviously needs some more time in the minors having pitched just a handful of innings.
In the case of Jones, he looked strong this spring and deserves consideration to be in the starting rotation now, but service time manipulation probably makes sense for the Pirates in his case, as well. He looks like another future front end starter. A case could be made that since his time at AAA last season was not as dominating as his time in AA, that he could use a few more tuneup starts at AAA. I can’t wait to see him on the Pirates staff, though.
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Jones will be on an innings limit this year, too. He only pitched something like 125 innings last season. No way they let him throw 50 or so more this year. As such, they can easily send him down around AS break to both ensure an extra year of control and monitor his innings. Just as they did with Roansy in ‘22.
The Pirates don’t have to wait to have Jones come up, they only need to option him down at some point in the season. Since his innings will be limited, they could probably do that in the middle of the summer when other guys are coming up.
Yep….. the Bucs need Jones right now probably more than in July/August. Get his innings in while he’s healthy and performing.
Any word on Lauer?
Him and German need about 2-3 weeks in AAA/Extended Spring Training to get stretched out.
In 2014 Carlos Carrasco was struggling with consistency as a SP and Cleveland moved him to the bullpen. There he figured out how to attack hitters, and later in the year they moved him back to the starting rotation where he found success.
Perhaps Roansy will get the same benefit?
I like the way you are thinking; I feel like this depends more on the pitcher’s mindset than anything. In Roansy’s case (and to some extent Ortiz), they’re doing too much thinking on the mound.
As starters, you’re thinking about facing a guy a second or third time, and younger pitchers especially will think about keeping something in their back pocket for the next AB.
Relievers can throw their best stuff, knowing they won’t have to face someone again. My fear with Roansy is using him over multiple innings because he’d fall back into that starter’s mindset. The team really should be looking for specific opportunities for him – pairing him as a 1-2 inning guy that follows Marco or Perez – to allow his stuff to “play up” a bit and build his confidence back. The key would be not letting him face any hitter a second time so that he could utilize his entire arsenal.
@PiratesPundit51 all of that is true but I think the bigger issue with both Contreras and Ortiz as starters is that they’re both two pitch pitchers with shaky command of their sliders. You can be successful as a starter with only two pitches but you gotta hit your spots.
Keller as well 2 years ago
any word on ji-hwan-bae ?
he should be in the mix for 2b
It’s looking like Triolo according to the local radio shows here.
He’s been hurt
He’s injured. Look for him to start year on IL.
Bae seems like a guy who needs a new team.
My fantasy team is rooting for Jones!
Nick Gonzalez cut!? Don’t think he gets enough ab’s . Hope he goes down and makes them call him up. Good power, Just needs to face good pitching.
Good call by the Pirates. Put him in the bullpen and let his stuff play up. If he harnesses his control as a reliever and performs well you give him another shot in the rotation.
This means there are two bullpen spots and two rotation spots up for grabs. I think one of Peralta/Fleming get one bullpen spot (both ground ball specialists) and Honeywell gets the other. Last two rotation spots go to Jared Jones and one of Luis Ortiz/Quinn Priester with the loser optioned to AAA to continue starting. Chase Anderson has pitched really well with his new focus on cutter/changeup rather than fastball/curve, but I’d make him prove it in AAA for several starts. Plus, he’s not on the 40 man roster and would require an additional move.
I believe they’ll have to decide on Anderson either today or tomorrow, as I think he can opt out if he doesn’t make the team. Given how he’s pitched this spring, it’s doubtful that he’d remain with the organization and go to AAA unless no other team could possibly squeeze him onto their roster.
I’m sure there are swingman/depth opportunities for him at the MLB level given the injuries or the team getting a cheap upgrade (Rockies, Nats, A’s). I think Fleming is probably the closest to having a spot locked down given his swingman-type role, Peralta makes it if Holderman and/or Bednar start the season on the IL. They’ll make space on the roster by doing a 60-day move (Burrows) for one of them, my other guess for a roster spot is sending Falter packing for an A-ball lottery ticket type to a desperate team.
I’m not positive Anderson would opt-out, although ironically the Marlins might be a landing spot for him if he does (Pirates open with them). I could see that playing a role and maybe the Pirates keep him so they don’t lose him, but I just don’t think they’ll prioritize that and assume he’s figured things out after 5 not so great seasons in a row.
Bednar pitched again and is healthy. Holderman was just an illness I thought? I didn’t think there was any risk of him opening the season on the IL.
I think it would be Fleming or Peralta, since they’re kind of the same pitcher (former starter who is a ground ball specialist), but not both (I could be wrong). Maybe Anderson gets the last spot in the bullpen as a way to keep him. I think Falter will just be passed through waivers.
They will let him throw innings when the lead is lost . Trying to salvage some value
Hopefully they don’t try to keep Falter
Falter and Selby both need dropping from the 40-man along with Williams and Palacios.