-1600x900.webp)
Kevin Newman, the Pirates' longest-tenured major-league player, is being shipped to the division rival Reds.
In return, the Pirates received right-handed reliever Dauri Moreta. Moreta, 26, went 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA over 38 1/3 innings with the Reds last year, but he did have some intriguing peripherals, including a fastball that averages 96 mph.
The Pirates went into this offseason looking for more swing and miss from their bullpen, and Moreta had a 26% whiff rate on his four-seamer and 48.9% on his slider. He also uses a sinker and changeup.
Newman had a bounce back campaign at the plate, slashing a near-league average .274/.316/.372 with two home runs and 24 RBIs in his 78 games played. While he was worth 1.1 WAR, which is a solid number for a half season of work, the Pirates have other middle infield options who are younger, including Oneil Cruz, Rodolfo Castro, Diego Castillo and Ji Hwan Bae. Newman very likely would have been a backup or utility player had he returned in 2023.
His fate may have been sealed because of the previous two years. While Newman was a finalist for a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2021, he struggled mightily at the plate that year and in the abbreviated 2020 campaign, hitting just .226 with a .570 OPS and 55 OPS+ in that stretch. The Pirates brought him back to provide some middle infield depth, but a hamstring injury sidelined him for two months early in the season. By the time he returned, Cruz had been promoted, effectively ending Newman's time as the team's everyday shortstop, though he did make 37 starts at second base.
Newman made his major-league debut in August 2018, a little over three years after he was draft by the Pirates in the first round in 2015. Bryan Reynolds is now the longest-tenured major-league Pirates, making his debut in April 2019.
Additionally, the Pirates settled with infielder Miguel Andújar to avoid arbitration before Friday's non-tender deadline.
Andújar's reported salary for next year is $1.525 million. MLB Trade Rumors projected he would make $1.7 million.
A late-season waiver claim, Andújar was the runner-up for the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 but has struggled to stay on the field since then. He slashed .250/.275/.389 with four extra-base hits and nine RBIs in his nine games played with the Pirates at the end of the season. He will presumably be brought back to provide depth to the corner infield and outfield spots.
The Pirates tendered contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players -- right-handers JT Brubaker and Mitch Keller, first baseman Ji-Man Choi and relievers Robert Stephenson and Duane Underwood Jr. -- as well as all of their players who were at zero to three years of service time. Their only formal non-tenders were catcher Tyler Heineman and left-hander Manny Bañuelos, both of whom were designated for assignment earlier this week.
In one more piece of news, reliever Junior Fernandez, who was designated for assignment by the Pirates' Tuesday, was claimed by the Yankees.
The Pirates' roster is at 40 players.