The Pirates have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent righty Jake Woodford, MLBTR has confirmed. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com first reported that Woodford was expected to sign with the Bucs. The Excel Sports client is headed to Triple-A Indianapolis for the time being but could work his way into the mix for a long-relief or fifth starter role with the Bucs.
Woodford opened the season with the 2024 season with the White Sox organization after signing a minor league deal back in January. He’d spent his entire career prior to that point with the Cardinals, who selected him with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2019 draft. The right-hander made a pair of starts in a thin ChiSox rotation but served up ten runs on 15 hits and five walks in 8 1/3 innings. He fanned seven of his 46 opponents (15.2%). Chicago designated him for assignment last week, and he elected free agency over the weekend after clearing waivers.
That brief White Sox run marked a fifth straight season with some major league work for Woodford. He’s totaled 193 frames between the Cards and Sox, working to a combined 4.57 ERA with a 15.1% strikeout rate, an 8.2% walk rate, a 46.1% ground-ball rate and 1.31 homers per nine innings pitched. Woodford doesn’t miss many bats but has generally posted above-average ground-ball marks while showing average command. He’ll rely primarily on a sinker that sits just shy of 92 mph, pairing that with a slider as his primary secondary offering. He worked in a cutter far more frequently than in the past during his brief Chicago stint this season.
Woodford is stretched out to start, giving the Pirates some additional depth in the rotation. He’s spent parts of six seasons in Triple-A, posting 4.19 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. He’s out of minor league options, so if the Pirates select him to the MLB roster, he’ll need to stick or else be again designated for assignment and exposed to waivers before he could be sent down. Even if he were to go unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the option to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment.
The Pirates’ rotation currently includes a pair of electric rookies — 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes and fellow top prospect Jared Jones — in addition to stalwart right-hander Mitch Keller. Entering the season, veteran lefties Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales were expected to hold down rotation spots behind Keller and Jones, but Perez landed on the injured list due to a groin strain late last month while Gonzales made only three starts before incurring a forearm strain that’s sidelined him for nearly two months now. Young righty Quinn Priester joined them on the injured list earlier this month due to a lat strain.
At the moment, the Bucs have southpaw Bailey Falter as their fourth starter behind Skenes, Jones and Keller. He’s made a dozen starts with a 3.69 ERA but far shakier marks from metrics like FIP (4.75) and SIERA (4.79). Pittsburgh has former second-round pick Braxton Ashcraft and waiver pickup Daulton Jefferies on the 40-man roster as rotation options who could be ahead of Woodford on the depth chart. Other non-roster veterans in Indianapolis include Josh Fleming, Domingo German and Michael Plassmeyer, though no one from that trio has pitched well in Triple-A this year. Woodford adds some insurance in the event of further injuries and/or some depth in the event that the team opts for some kind of innings cap on Skenes and Jones down the stretch.
Anyone is better than the bum Shelton put out there yesterday in the 10th. I’ve seen a postion player give up less runs in an inning.
I just had a bad feeling when they announced a bullpen game the day prior. I just knew that Shelton would paint himself intp a corner and he did.
We didn’t have anyone left. Bednar was used Saturday because he was already warmed up after they scored the 4th run, Ortiz was ovbiously out, Mlodzinski nor Holderman probably werern’t avaiable either. They almost had to play a bullpen game because their alternatives were Domingo German and Daulton Jeffries, unless they wanted to pull Braxton Ashcraft early from his start in Altoona a few days prior with the hope he could at least give them a few innings on Sunday.
Olivares was available after it became clear that your boy wasn’t going to get anyone out
He couldn’t have been worse, plunking 3 batters and walking two
Heller needs to be dfa
I have often seen a closer sat down when the home team scores extra runs. It is not that unusual. I was surprised when he brought him in. I guess he didn’t figure he would need him the next day since he forgot that games sometimes will go into extra innings. Maybe he just wanted to see if Heller could repeat his awful performance that he had against the Dodgers a few days before.
Pan- It should be obvious by now to all of us that Shelton has only limited ability to think ahead and consider all possibilities.
Or maybe the computer had an off day,
especially considering that Ortiz has been a starter so he could have been used as one instead of the bullpen game
Plus in yesterday’s game, Jones had thrown 83 pitches after 5 innings and his limit is 100 pitches meaning he could have conceivably pitched the 6th inning and in the process saved from having to use the most ineffective pitcher in recent Pirate memory
But as usual, Shelton mismanaged those two games
Shelton is really the worse. Tellez finally starts to hit and gets 2 hits in one game and he sits him down against a right hander the next game.
Earlier in the year Cutch hits lead off HRs in two games and then he sits him.
I just can’t understand why they keep him.
And continues to use Suwinski despite the fact that he’s regressed from last year and has shown no signs of improvement
But in defense of Shelton and I hate having to say this, Cherington makes the roster decisions, Shelton has to play the guys he’s given
But you are spot on, panj341, his lineup decisions are mind boggling
I doubt very much he has final say on who does and doesn’t start. I believe they have Ivy League data analysts who tell them who should be starting every game.
maybe so, but how can it be explained that Reynolds has started every game so far this season?
Nutting getting his money’s worth?
if that was the case, Hayes would have played on Sunday
Not a bad arm to stash at Triple-A. He was solid in 2021-2022. Probably no worse of an option than Domingo German or Daulton Jeffries.
Has to be better than Plassmeyer, check out his ERA and you will wonder why this guy is taking up space in Indy.
As a Cards fan I have watched him pitch. Seems like a good guy, works hard, but just doesn’t have the stuff. When he misses he gets hammered.
“ when he misses, he gets hammered “
He will fit right in with the Pirates
“When he misses, he gets hammered.”
That applies to almost every Pitcher. In case you forgot, it was just last week that Skenes, who arguably has the nastiest stuff in MLB, gave up two dingers when he missed middle-middle.
I wouldn’t exactly consider giving up 2 homers as getting hammered
That chaotic inning that Heller pitched on Sunday can easily be construed as getting hammered though
My point is, no Pitcher can succeed throwing in the meat of the plate. But as you pointed out, it’s about to what degree.
Does he have an era of 71? Heller does: What a joke of a pitcher, and I don’t care how well he pitched at Indy, he doesn’t deserve to be on the parent club
I had a lot of hope for Ben Cherington and his Pirates. That ended when I saw him enabling Oneil Cruz instead of challenging him…..and that action was picked up by other players and their agents.
The Pirates are a difficult situation due to their small market status. It appears Mr. Cherington produces better working with large market teams budgets, and when he’s limited in his responsibilities.
Not a knock on him. Very few execs have done well with limited budgets. Until there’s total revenue sharing – which I don’t believe will ever happen in MLB – there are very few small market teams that will be truly completive for more than 2 years out of every 5
or 6…..if that.
Samuel-We had discussed this last year.Cruz is talented but is not fundamentally sound as a shortstop.I do not think that he concentrates well enough and has not worked on his fundamentals.
I had originally thought that he should go to right field but now think that Henry Davis should be moved there.Others have said move Cruz to first base and I now agree.
He had gotten a private hitting instructor last year and should go back to as he strikes out way too much and on breaking balls.He likes to hit the ball hard and can do so but has fallen in love with that as he gets solid feedback from the Pirates to do so.
You are right- Cherington has a major weakness in not knowing how to be tough on players.He hired a manager accordingly.He needs someone over him to make the tough decisions and fire the player development crew along with the ML hitting coach and manager.
Cruz’ throws from the shortstop position to first are often erratic, and whoever is playing first must be careful to catch the ball on a bounce
Hit legs suggest he’s a perfect candidate to play first base, due to having a better ability to stretch and his height is a definite advantage
But, like many of his teammates, he swings at pitches nowhere close to the plate
The Dodgers had Cruz in the minors and traded him for a rental reliver that helped them win a WS, then left in free agency.
I believe Friedman saw where he was coming from, beloved that he’d be high-maintenance, and simply felt he wasn’t worth the headaches. A (desperate) small market team such as the Pirates is where a guy like that gets sent to. The problem lies in giving him special privilege’s which other young players don’t receive. Sure, they realize he has more natural ability, but it still builds resentment as it would in any business organization. If the guy was propelling the team like an Acuna or someone – OK. But this is a .250 hitter that for all his ability has a middling fWAR at best, and he causes his team shifts in games due to poor fundamental play.
The best thing the Pirates can do is to dump him and take what they can get. But it may be too late as there would be a fan backlash, and the reality is that there are few teams in MLB that would even consider taking him on….and if they would, they wouldn’t offer much in return.
Again, the Pirates are simply a bad situation…and that manager……
I would not have a problem trading him but I disagree in that they could get something of real value in return.
In another year maybe not.
There are plenty of teams with better coaches than the Pirates have.His biggest problem is that he thinks that he is a big league shortstop.But there is real talent there if harnessed properly and at first base and which could be a windfall
The Pirates have proven to veteran Pirate fans that this management team cannot do so or he would have had more progress shown already.
If you’re signing someone the CWS designated, then you should be fired. Woodford’s future is pitching BP.
The Pirates annual dumpster diving event has started early this year
Player development has also been a problem under Cherington’s leadership, and that facet of an organization doesn’t necessarily cost a ton of money
Good scouting and lower level coaching including pitching, running, defense and offense
Altoona for example recently lost 14 games in a row. That’s the AA club. These players are supposed to be two levels from the parent club
Indy isn’t exactly having a banner year either and the Pirates have had high draft picks since 2018.
So what exactly is the problem?
I think you identified the problem in your post, scouting and coaching.
I knew things were going to be bad when they said they were going to let players be responsible for their own development.
Another middle infielder. WHY?????
A+ signing