The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Isaac Mattson. Fellow righty Jake Woodford has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The 40-man roster remains full.
Woodford was just selected to the roster yesterday and it seems the plan was simply for him to make a spot start as the club plays out the string on the 2024 season. He took the ball against his former club the Cardinals yesterday, tossing 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five hitters and didn’t issue a walk, but he allowed four earned runs on eight hits, including a home run.
The righty was also on Pittsburgh’s roster earlier in the year but without much success. He now has a 7.97 earned run average through 35 innings on the year. That’s surely a bit misleading as his 44.6% strand rate is well below league average, but he’s also not doing himself favors with his 15.6% strikeout rate and 35.2% ground ball rate.
He’s been able to work around the lack of strikeouts in the past. He tossed 116 innings as a swingman for the Cards over 2021 and 2022, posting a 3.26 ERA. He only punched out 15.4% of opponents but also kept the ball on the ground 45.8% of the time. His ERA jumped to 6.23 last year due to a home run spike, which led the Cards to non-tender him.
The Bucs will put him on waivers in the coming days, as they did in late August. At that time, he cleared waivers, elected free agency and then re-signed on a fresh minor league deal. With so little of the 2024 season remaining, it’s possible he goes unclaimed and goes into offseason mode slightly ahead of schedule.
Mattson, 29, will take Woodford’s place and return to the big leagues for the first time since 2021. He made four appearances for the Orioles that year, allowing three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, which is the total of his major league experience thus far.
He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates coming into 2024 and has had a solid year on the farm. He has thrown 71 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.17 ERA and 29.8% strikeout rate, though the 12.7% walk rate is on the high side.
He’ll give the Bucs a fresh arm for the bullpen as they finish out the season. He has a couple of options remaining and just a few days of service time, so he can theoretically be retained well into the future, though he would have to hold onto his roster spot throughout the club’s offseason transactions.
TheMan 3
In a week they’ll be calling him back to make yet another start
Dice 66
Who knows or cares after last night!
TheMan 3
yeah, Dice 66, last night’s game was yet another mismanaged attempt by a major league manager who has no business in a leadership role
They need to win the rest of their games to finish at .500 and it’s very unlikely that will happen and it’s even more likely that they will finish with a worse record than last season
And Cherington expects Shelton to return next season. To do what? Lead this team into last place again?
CravenMoorehead
Tough break for a former 1st round draft pick. All things considered, keep your heads up, Pirates fans. Hope to see your team become competitive again in the next few years. A longtime storied franchise deserves better.
Dice 66
Tired of hearing wait till next year! There are no excuses anymore. Trade young pitching for GOOD young hitters. Beginning to realize we have know scouts that can judge talent as far as hitting. Not like old days,always loaded with hitting! What happened? As a BUC fan for years it’s plain shameful. Bob Nutting doesn’t have a clue,or just doesn’t care. Just counting his money. Would love to meet him in public to tell him how stupid he is.
CravenMoorehead
I remember growing up seeing Bonds, Bonilla, Drabek, Van Slyke, Bell, Smiley ect. 3 straight NLCS appearances with Jim Leyland at the helm. I lived in Buffalo NY briefly and the Bisons were the Pirate’s AAA team so I got to see some of those players for an exhibition at the ballpark downtown one time. Bonilla was really nice and signed autographs for a bit. Bonds, not so much.
TheMan 3
the words “ next year “ should be sewed into every player’s jersey to remind fans of what they have to look forward to after the current last place finish ends
TheMan 3
the problem with that, Dice 66, is that Nutting doesn’t care what people think
As long as his profile aren’t effected anyway
Dice 66
Here’s more 70’s hitters Oliver, Zisk,Parker, Robertson, Clines,Madlock,Garner,Stennett,Stargell ,Cash,sh..it it goes on and on! With no hitter development, well 20 years of losing!
panj341
What a surprise!
No one will claim him again.
Isn’t the definition of an idiot is doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result?
mlb1225
Happy for Matson! Got to watch him pitch a few years ago for the Washington Wild Things when I worked there for a summer.
Tonybagadonutz
Why couldnt the Pirates call up one of their prized young pitchers and give him a start instead of journeyman Woodford? Total fkn joke, this organization is going backwards.
Dice 66
Mlb should step in a take team for the fans sake and good of game! They could sell team next day! Get legit owner who cares!!
TheMan 3
IKF leads off the game with a double and never even makes it to third base
Only a few players try to hit the ball in the opposite direction to move runners into scoring position
But Cherington expects Shelton to return next season
alwaysgo4two
He’ll be put in to close out tonight’s game. Too soon? Remember who the manager is. Shelton plays to win.
wvsteve
About as a half you know what attempt to win a major league game as it gets for last night. Why not see what Burrow has to offer before the season. Doing that with position players.
Newbucoprojectory
They should DFA Nutjob Nutting, The Moron, Cherry Picker Cherrington and the whole coaching staff.
I think a good manager pick would be Kevin Young. He’s been with the organization for years. He’s knowledgeable. On the games he’s an excellent color man, knows his baseball.