Jordan Lyles changed his pitch selection when he changed teams this year. The Pirates are convinced it can make a long-term difference for the 28-year-old right-hander.
The team officially signed Lyles to a one-year, $2.05-million contract Monday as a free agent, and he will compete with Nick Kingham and Steven Brault for the fifth starter's job. The sides agreed to terms last Tuesday, but the deal was contingent on Lyles passing a physical examination.
"The possibility to come in and compete for a spot in the rotation really interested me," Lyles said on a conference call with reporters. "I've always enjoyed Pittsburgh and coming to PNC Park. Seeing that they had a solid lineup, good depth one through eight, and one of the better rotations in baseball is exciting. There’s a lot of things to like about coming to Pittsburgh."
Said Neal Huntington: "We've liked Jordan Lyles for a while. We’ve had some thoughts that we could help him. He started it by changing his pitch use, changing his arsenal, and we want to help him continue to build upon that success here."
Lyles was 3-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 35 games, including eight starts, with the Padres and Brewers, this past season. He averaged 8.5 hits and 1.2 home runs allowed per nine innings as well as 2.9 walks and 8.6 strikeouts.
The Brewers claimed Lyles off waivers Aug. 5, and he helped them win the National League Central title by posting a 3.31 ERA in 11 regular-season appearances. Lyles did not make the postseason roster as the Brewers advanced to Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, but he caught the eye of the Pirates' scouts and statistical analysts.
"He pitched well for us," Brewers manager Craig Counsell told DKPittsburghSports.com last week during the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. "He should help the Pirates."
According to BrooksBaseball.net, Lyles threw his curveball 37 percent of the time with the Brewers compared to 27 with the Padres. Opposing hitters were just 5-for-22 (.227) against the pitch with no extra-base hits after he joined Milwaukee.
The Pirates believe the sharpening of that pitch could make a difference.
"If Jordan continues to pitch the way he did out of the bullpen in Milwaukee, we’ll have a strong rotation," Huntington said. "He won't be the first and won't be the last to take lessons learned out of the bullpen and apply them as a starter."
Lyles feels the biggest lesson he learned in relief was being aggressive.
"The four-pitch mix, that's what I felt I had to use to be a starter," Lyles said. "Going forward, I'm staying with the mindset of not giving in with two-strike fastballs or two-strike cutters and be on the attack with the curveball and changeup."
One scout who watched Lyles frequently last season told DKPittsburghSports.com: "He's worth taking a shot on at that price, but I wouldn't get too carried away thinking this guy is suddenly going to be a really good pitcher. The curveball helped, but I still think he's stretched as a starter. If they use him out of the bullpen, he could help them."
Despite his relatively young age, Lyles has already spent eight seasons in the major leagues with the Astros (2011-13), Rockies (2014-17), Padres (2017-18) and Brewers (2018), all without much success. He has just a 31-52 career record with a 5.28 ERA in 217 games, including 115 starts, with per-nine-inning averages of 10.1 hits, 1.1 homers, 3.0 walks and 6.4 strikeouts.
The Astros selected Lyles in the supplemental first round of the 2008 amateur draft with the 38th pick after his senior year of high school in Hartsville, S.C.
Lyles signed with the Astros despite having committed to play football at the University of South Carolina. He was an All-State wide receiver in high school and caught 81 passes for 1,568 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior.