BRADENTON, Fla. – Tyler Lyons and Brandon Maurer would like to forget last season, and it’s hard to blame them. Both had brutal 2018s.
Long a reliable swingman for the Cardinals, everything fell apart for Lyons. The left-hander posted an 8.64 ERA and 1.92 WHIP during 27 relief appearances in an injury-marred season that included trips to the DL with a strained back and a sprained elbow.
“It was one of those years where you couldn’t wait for it to end and start on a new year,” Lyons said. “For the first time, it was not as much fun to sit at home and think about the season. It’s hard to enjoy the offseason after a year like that.”
A year removed from serving as the Padres’ closer, Maurer was awful for the Royals. He had a 7.76 ERA and 2.13 WHIP in 37 games.
“It was a rough year,” Maurer said. “Everything went wrong. Nothing seemed to go my way.”
However, like many other pitchers, Lyons and Maurer are looking to find new life with the Pirates during spring training. They were signed to minor-league contracts after being dropped off their teams’ 40-man rosters at the end of last season.
Ray Searage, the Mr. Fix-It of pitchers, needed to make only one recruiting call to convince Maurer to come to Pittsburgh.
“When I talked to Ray it sounded like he had a lot of good ideas,” Maurer said. “He sounded like he had a lot of mechanical fixes that could get me, I don’t want to say fixed necessarily, but back on track. He just seemed very sure he could help me.”
Having played his entire career playing against the Pirates in the National League Central, Lyons knows Searage’s reputation. He also thought the city of Pittsburgh itself would be a nice change of scenery.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming to Pittsburgh,” Lyons said. “I like the city and I love playing at (PNC Park). I also thought they had a young core group of really good players. It just seemed like a good fit for me and it all kind of took shape where it worked out that I could sign here.”
Both pitchers have had past success.
Lyons broke into the major leagues with the Cardinals in 2013 and had a 3.79 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 120 games through his first five seasons. However, the injuries took a major toll last year and the Cardinals decided to move on without him.
“It’s tough to start dealing with stuff injury-wise because I didn’t feel good body-wise pretty much the entire season last year,” Lyons said. “I know that I am capable of being an effective pitcher in the big leagues when I’m healthy. I’ve proven that and I have a lot of confidence in myself.
“I really needed the offseason to see where I was and figure out what I needed to do to get back to where I need to be. I feel great now and I’m ready to go.”
So is Maurer, who had a combined 20 saves with the Padres and Royals two years ago. Having the chance to close boosted his confidence and he says that it was not shaken by last year’s performance.
“Closing was great --- come in there, shut it down and then go party with the boys,” the personable Maurer said with a smile. “Anytime you’re trusted enough to be the closer, it’s a big deal. There is nobody left behind you in the bullpen. You’re out there alone to either win or lose the game. There’s a lot of trust being put in you.
“I know I can still pitch," added Maurer, a classmate of current Astros and former Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School. "I’m not over the hill by any means. Last year was a bad year but it was just one year. I’ve put it behind me and moved on. I’m excited about this year and showing these guys the type of pitcher that I know I am.”
Both will be given a legitimate chance of making the team this spring. The backend of the bullpen is strong with Felipe Vazquez, Keone Kela, Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez but there are questions marks about the last three or four spots.
Clint Hurdle has seen plenty of Lyons over the years and was happy that the Pirates landed him.
“We like the edge,” Hurdle said. “We like the ability. We like that he has pitched in big situations. We like that he has pitched in the postseason. We like that he can get right-handed hitters out just as well as left-handers.”
That’s a lot to like.
The Pirates aren’t as familiar with Maurer. Yet they like the fact that his fastball still averaged 96 mph last season despite his struggles.
“He’s a power pitcher and we’ve had success with those types of pitchers in the past,” Neal Huntington said. “We feel there are things we can do to help him reach his potential again. First and foremost, it’s having Ray work with him, but we also have (bullpen coach) Euky Rojas and (assistant pitching coach) Justin Meccage to help him, along with our training staff. There is a lot that goes into it and we feel we have to resources to really help pitchers.”
