There wasn’t much to take out of the efforts of the Pirates’ pitching staff after the fourth inning Monday night.
It was an off night for a bullpen that seemed to follow Mitch Keller’s ill-fated lead in a 14-1 shellacking at the hands of the division rival Reds at PNC Park.
Luis Oviedo was unable to put an end to all the ugliness. He even contributed to some of it himself. But he’s the one guy that pitched Monday, besides Keller, that’s worth the search for a positive. Fortunately for anyone looking for a glimmer of hope in an otherwise brutal contest, Oviedo finished just about as strong as he could.
The 21-year-old Rule 5 pick’s evening had a very quirky start. He and Reds’ utility man Alex Blandino remained perfectly still after the performance of the national anthem until they were chased away by home plate umpire Chris Conroy two minutes after scheduled first pitch.
It was magnificent.pic.twitter.com/hVPN9Zb3tv
— Gerard Gilberto (@Gerard_Gilberto) May 10, 2021
Although the night started with a laugh, the smiles quickly dissipated when Keller, with minimal help from Duane Underwood Jr., was charged with seven runs in the fourth inning.
Oviedo followed and was similarly mistreated by the Reds. Opposing pitcher Tyler Mahle bounced into a force out to plate Tucker Barnhart after the backstop started the sixth with a double. Then Tyler Naquin bashed a three-run homer off the right-field foul pole for Cincinnati’s third hit -- all of which had an exit velocity greater than 101 mph -- of the seventh.
“Tonight was obviously not our night,” Derek Shelton assessed. “We did not locate from the fourth inning on, in any stretch of the imagination. It seemed like every time we missed location, we paid for it.”
But Oviedo bounced back to strike out Eugenio Suarez and Barnhart to end the night. He got Suarez to swing over a curveball after falling behind, 3-0, and went to the slider to get Barnhart to chase down in the zone.
“You take from it not that it was a tough outing for the kid,” Shelton said. “But the fact that he was able to bounce back for the last two punchouts and executed pitches … is a good sign. We still have things to work on with him, but for him to be able to finish like that was maybe one of the few positives in the game tonight.”
Oviedo has certainly looked more comfortable on the mound in his first outings after a 17-day hiatus between appearances. He allowed just one hit over two appearances against the Cardinals and Cubs.
Veteran catcher Jacob Stallings has been there to shepherd the young right-hander through his first big-league action. Stallings said he spoke with Oviedo to make sure he could get the most out of his time off the mound.
“He was still trying to get used to the role of a reliever, and the routine and all that,” Stallings said this weekend in Chicago. “I think he used the time off well to get a routine and something he feels confident in, and I think it's shown his last few outings. He's been the guy that we saw early in the season. Really happy for him.”
Although the overall performance on Monday night left plenty to be desired, the end of Oviedo’s outing showed just what they’re aiming for.
MORE FROM THIS GAME
There was something strange about the way things played out with Ben Gamel’s activation. Michael Feliz was designated for assignment on Sunday to make room for Gamel on the 40-man roster. On Monday, Todd Frazier was DFA’d from the active roster to free up a spot for Gamel.
Why would a team DFA two players a day apart to add the same guy? Had the Pirates just DFA’d Frazier on Sunday, they wouldn’t need to cut Feliz.
Sure, it’s not the end of the world to lose Feliz, a right-handed reliever with a 5.00 ERA over 115 appearances with the Pirates. If it was time to move on from Feliz and let Geoff Hartlieb take over that spot in the bullpen, then fine.
Hartlieb had an inauspicious start to his 2021 season, yielding the last three Cincinnati runs in the eighth inning. The 6-foot-5 right-hander had a strong 2020 with the big-league club, and he retired the first six batters he faced to start the season for Class AAA Indianapolis last week. But that’s not a performance worthy of forcing another reliever out of a job.
Especially since Feliz had just returned from the injured list just one week ago, and he’s been a contributor to their steady reliever corps this season with a 2.35 ERA over 7 ⅔ innings. He’s also a player to which the team has invested a lot of time since he was acquired in the Gerrit Cole trade in 2018. And the move is an avoidable white flag to raise when looking back on that deal.
If losing Feliz is an appropriate price to pay for one day of Frazier, then so be it. Frazier did collect a pair of hits in a winning effort. But still, the guy was hitting .032 (1-for-32) heading into that game.
And understand why Frazier was in the starting lineup in the first place. And why Ka’ai Tom was batting third. And why five of the eight hitters from the opening day lineup were unavailable. Injuries happen. They’ve seen it right before their eyes with their lineups how quickly guys can just vanish and decimate a group.
Keep this in mind as well: Troy Stokes Jr. had been promoted and made his MLB debut Sunday when Colin Moran went to the IL with a left groin strain. Why was Stokes able to get to Wrigley Field on a moment’s notice? Class AAA Indianapolis was close by in Iowa.
Let’s say the Pirates DFA Frazier right off the bat. Stokes took Ke’Bryan Hayes’ spot on the 40-man after he was transferred to the 60-day IL, and Moran’s spot on the active. Gamel takes Frazier’s spot on the 40-man, but isn’t yet active Sunday as he passes through intake. Now the team needs a hitter to replace Frazier on the active roster as well.
The ideal candidate for that spot is an optionable minor leaguer -- preferably one close by geographically since they may just do a 24-hour stint on the active roster -- that is both a position player and already on the 40-man roster. That narrows it down to one player: Cole Tucker.
Tucker was in Iowa with the Class AAA team and fits the other criteria. He didn’t even have to get into the game -- Phillip Evans could have filled in at first base for Frazier, as he did Monday will probably continue to do for the foreseeable future until Moran returns.
It wouldn't have been the first MLB bow for Tucker, who clearly has some things to work on. He stayed in Bradenton for extra hitting instruction when the team broke camp in March and was not once a part of the alternate site activities.
But why is it more favorable to lose Feliz than it is to just let Tucker be a major leaguer for a day?
This may be more advocating for Feliz than anybody has done or ever will do, but two people shouldn’t have lost their jobs for Gamel. And that’s not because Gamel was 1-for-14 before being cut loose by the Indians, and 0-for-2 in his Pirates’ debut Monday night.
Even if it was Mike Trout being added here, there’s not much reason for it to go down like this.
On top of all of that, Shelton said he expects a resolution to the Gregory Polanco saga, “within the next few days.” If that’s the case and he re-joins the team this week, that might either make for a short Pirates’ tenure for Gamel or a brief first major league stint for Stokes. Odds are, it'll be Stokes that goes back down to Indianapolis.
