SAN DIEGO -- Ben Cherington has made his first signing as general manager. It just is not a particularly exciting one.
The Pirates have come to terms on a minor-league deal with right-handed pitcher Hector Noesi. It is not yet known if the contract comes with an invitation to spring training, or if the Pirates view him as a starter or a reliever.
Noesi has not had much major-league success in his career, going 12-34 with a 5.51 ERA and -1.9 WAR in parts of six major-league seasons. He will turn 33 in January.
He did, however, have a very successful two year run in South Korea's KBO from 2016-2017. He slipped a bit in 2018, but still performed well enough there and in winter ball for the Marlins to offer him a deal to come back to America last winter.
In three seasons in the KBO, Noesi pitched 582.1 innings and recorded a 3.79 ERA, 452 strikeouts and a 1.33 WHIP.
Again, Noesi struggled in the majors in 2019, going 0-3 with an 8.46 ERA in 12 appearances for the Marlins, including four starts. While it was an incredibly small sample size, he did perform admirably as a reliever, allowing three runs in 9.1 innings pitched while striking out nine.
Noesi recorded a 3.82 ERA and 5.32 FIP in 21 starts for the Marlins' Class AAA affiliate.
Noesi offers a four-pitch mix: A two-seam fastball, a slider, a curve and a changeup. His fastball sits in the low to mid-90s, while his slider averages a spin rate of 2,200 RPM. His curveball, while used less, spins more, averaging nearly 2,600 RPM.
