The Pirates are bringing another left-handed reliever to spring training to compete for a spot in the bullpen, signing Chasen Shreve to a minor-league deal Sunday.
Shreve, 30, pitched 25 innings over 17 appearances with the Mets last year, recording a 3.96 ERA and 34 strikeouts. He has a 3.74 career ERA over 235 games pitched between the Braves, Yankees, Cardinals and Mets.
He will make a guaranteed $1.5 million if he is added to the roster, per Jeff Passan.
Shreve’s fastball sits in the low-90s, but he makes up for it by getting good movement and about 2,400 RPM of spin. He also has a splitter that gives hitters plenty of trouble, holding batters to a .204 batting average with a 55.1% whiff rate against it. Of his 34 strikeouts, 28 came on his split-finger. He’ll also mix in a slider.
While Shreve gets a lot of whiffs and strikeouts, finishing in the top 10% league wide in both categories last year, he also gives up some hard contact. His 90.8 mph average exit velocity allowed was in the bottom 10% for pitchers last year, according to Baseball Savant. In his career he has allowed an average of 1.6 home runs per nine innings pitched.
The Pirates have 24 pitchers on the 40-man roster, but only three are left-handed: Steven Brault, Sam Howard and Austin Davis. Howard seems to be well positioned for a bullpen job after a strong 2020 campaign, and Brault is in the rotation. The Pirates are inviting just two other left-handed pitchers to spring training, prospects Braeden Ogle and Blake Weiman, both of whom are not on the roster. If the Pirates want to have a second southpaw in the bullpen, it would look like Shreve and Davis would be the two in competition with each other.
Pitchers and catchers will start reporting to Bradenton, Fla. on Feb. 15. The Pirates currently have 67 players heading to its Major League spring training.
