George Kontos, the only reliever in the Pirates' bullpen over the age of 30, has been designated for assignment to make room on the 25-man roster for starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, the club announced Friday afternoon.
Kontos, a 32-year-old right-hander claimed off waivers from the Giants last August, was moved out of the setup role 10 days ago and had allowed at least one run in five of his last six appearances. Musgrove, set to make his first regular-season start for the Pirates Friday night against the Cardinals at PNC Park, was recalled from his Triple-A rehab assignment and reinstated from the 10-day disabled list.
Clint Hurdle told reporters the Pirates weighed the importance of Kontos' experience, which includes a World Series title with the Giants in 2012, but they had not seen enough progress from him to remove one of their other relievers from the roster.
"He helped grow those young guys out there that are pitching so well right now, and he has not been able to recreate that level of performance," Hurdle said. "The execution level of the pitches, the command. ... We’ve got guys who are pitching well, and we prefer to stick with men that are pitching well, finding outs and keeping people off the plate. Right now, I wish George well moving out because he did nothing but add value to everything he touched while he was here. ... Unfortunately the game demands execution."
Kontos, named the Pirates' setup man at the start of spring training, had a 5.03 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with only nine strikeouts to five walks in 19 2/3 innings this season. He allowed a career-worst 10.5 hits per nine innings and his velocity was down from last season. Hurdle demoted him from that role on May 15 after he blew a one-run lead against the Giants three days earlier.
Kontos did not pitch again until May 19, and he has allowed an earned run in each of his past two appearances. It was a far cry from his production with the Pirates last season, when he allowed only three earned runs in 14 2/3 innings, despite missing time with a right groin strain.
The whiff rate on his best pitch — a cutter — has dropped more than 11 percent from last season, and opponents are batting .278 against it. His best breaking pitch — a slider — has resulted in three of his four home runs allowed and opponents were batting .375 against it. Kontos began the season with three consecutive scoreless appearances before allowing a solo home run to the Reds' Eugenio Suarez in the eighth inning of a tied game at PNC Park.
He has a 5.74 ERA since that game, yet Kontos expressed confidence he's nearing a breakthrough and is hopeful a team in need of bullpen help will claim him.
"Just the inconsistency," Kontos said. "I really haven’t been able to get my delivery to where it needed to be. I’d have a good outing and another outing I wouldn’t be finishing it, leaving pitches up. Just some things that weren’t characteristic of myself and what I’m capable of doing."
Despite Kontos' struggles, the Pirates' bullpen has a combined 2.69 ERA since April 12 — the second-lowest mark in the majors in that span. Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez, both recalled April 13 to stabilize middle relief, have WHIPs of 1.42 and 1.09, respectively.
Crick, a 25-year-old right-hander acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade, has stranded seven of his nine runners and has held left-handed batters to only one extra-base hit in 32 plate appearances. Rodriguez, a 28-year-old right-hander signed to a minor-league deal after allowing nine runs in 5 2/3 innings for the Orioles last season, has struck out 30 batters in 18 1/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Edgar Santana, a right-hander who struggled in his 18 innings with the Pirates last season, has a 0.34 WHIP with 17 strikeouts to four walks in 20 1/3 innings, including a 1.10 ERA since April 11. Only two of his 12 inherited runners have scored, and he's in competition with Michael Feliz for the setup role.
To compare, Felipe Vazquez has allowed six of his nine inherited runners to score. Feliz, who has pitched in the eighth inning with a lead of three or fewer runs on four occasions, has a 1.25 WHIP and is averaging 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings while leading the Pirates with 23 appearances. He gave up a three-run lead by allowing three runs against the Reds Wednesday, although the Pirates won, 5-4, in 12 innings.
Steven Brault and Tyler Glasnow have also shown promise while pitching in long relief. However, the Pirates still valued Kontos' experience. After all, Rodriguez is now the elder statesman of the group and Kontos was one of only six players over the age of 30 in the clubhouse.
"We weighed it," Hurdle said. "We weighed it heavily. We shared it with him in here. ... It's seven weeks into the season. We felt the touches had been significant and then they stopped in the eighth inning. We were still able to give him the ball three or four times since then and we hadn't seen anything that's given us a thought that, 'OK, we're on to something and we're moving [forward.]' You evaluate it all."
Kontos had a 2.90 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in five seasons prior to 2017. He had a 1.05 WHIP as a rookie in 2012, making eight postseason appearances for the World Series champions. Kontos had a career-best 0.94 WHIP for the Giants in 2015, stranding 76 percent of inherited runners.
A fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2006, Kontos had a ground-ball percentage of at least 40 percent in six of the last seven seasons and only 38 percent of inherited runners scored against him in 2017. With Brault, Glasnow, Rodriguez, Santana and Crick capable of pitching multiple innings, the Pirates opted for a seven-man bullpen after they utilized eight relievers since opening day, despite having only two off-days in the next month.
And they're taking that gamble while relying on young, mostly inexperienced arms.
"These young guys are doing their job and doing what they’re supposed to be doing," Kontos said. "I haven’t forgotten how to play baseball, and I’m still a competitor. I still have a lot left in this game. I would imagine hopefully somebody takes a shot on a guy that’s been around a little bit and knows how to pitch and has, in my opinion, quite a bit of success in the big leagues. We just go from there."