FORT MYERS, Fla. -- On Sunday, the Pirates announced the signing of right-hander Steven Wright to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp. The club made the announcement in a press release about 30 minutes after media availability with manager Derek Shelton.
The 36-year-old knuckleballer has not pitched in a major league game since 2019 and holds a 3.86 career ERA in 81 appearances over seven seasons -- all with the Red Sox.
Wright was an All-Star in 2016 but he’s dealt with injuries and trekked a regrettable path since.
Reconstructive knee surgery limited Wright to five starts in 2017. Then in December, he was arrested and charged with domestic assault following an incident with his wife at their home in Tennessee. The charges were dropped and Wright had to pay a fine and complete an anger management course. He was also suspended by Major League Baseball for the first 15 games of the 2018 season.
Wright lasted 10 games upon his return to the Red Sox in 2018 before going back on the disabled list with knee inflammation. He returned for 10 relief appearances in September and was incredibly effective out of the bullpen -- allowing just one run in 13.2 innings. But he re-injured his knee and was shut down during the American League Division Series.
The second-round pick of the Indians in 2006 was suspended again to start the 2019 season. This time for 80 games after he tested positive for a banned synthetic substance which promotes the production of human growth hormone. His second turn as a reliever did not last long as he took a line drive off his right big toe during his sixth and final appearance in July.
The Red Sox released Wright, who still had a year of arbitration eligibility, in October of 2019, and the right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery soon after.
Wright is more than 18 months removed from his most recent appearance and more than two years from his latest start. It’s unlikely that he can return as a starter, and even in his best season in 2016, he pitched just 156.2 innings.
Wright increased his knuckleball usage to around 80 percent in his stints throughout the past three years. But in his All-Star season in 2016, he mixed in a curveball and four-seam fastball in roughly 30 percent of his pitchers.
He is among the last of a dying breed of knuckleballers in baseball. According to Statcast, Todd Frazier and Erik Kratz -- neither of whom are pitchers -- are the only players to throw a knuckleball in 2020. In 2019, Wright, Ryan Feierabend and Blue Jays catcher Luke Maile were the only players to throw a knuckleball in a major league game.