A Wing and a Prayer Pirates Bullpen
The Pirates’ bullpen has been the source of much consternation among fans these first few weeks of the season and with good reason. However last weekend’s implosion against the Phillies caused even the most optimistic Pirates’ fan (I’m looking at you Chuck in Uniontown) to bang their head against the wall. After looking at the composition of the bullpen and its current residents, I began to ask myself are we getting exactly what we signed up for? Did GM Ben Cherrington construct this bullpen on a wing and a prayer?
For those of you who expressed doubt in the quality of the relievers during the offseason, the words of the late Dennis Green, the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings come to mind, “they are who we thought they were!”
There are 4 right handed relievers on the roster right now, 30 and over: Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Yohan Ramirez and Dennis Santana. This is Ramirez’ 2nd stop with the Pirates, and he’s been with 7 other MLB teams in his 7 seasons. Mattson spent time with the Angels and Orioles and Lawrence was claimed off waivers by the Pirates after being with the Rockies.
Dennis Santana’s MLB history is extensive, as the Pirates are his 7th team since getting the majors. He’s been DFA’d by the Dodgers, posted a 3-8 record with 5.21 ERA with the Rangers, traded to the Braves, claimed off waivers by the Twins, then the Mets and finally the Yankees. The Yankees DFA’s him after 23 appearances and a 6.26 ERA.
Of the left handers, Gregory Soto has 60 careers saves – but a 4.16 ERA. His best year was 2022, when he converted 30 of 33 save opportunities and posted a 3.28 ERA for a Detroit Tigers’ team which lost 96 games. His own record: 2-11. He went on to pitch for the Phillies, Orioles and Mets before coming to the Pirates. This is his track record.
The other two southpaws, Evan Sisk (age 29) and Mason Montgomery (age 25) provide some hope that once Carmen Mlodzinski gets back to being a reliever, they can provide support to the starting rotation which has performed well the first seven weeks of the season.