PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There has been bigger news in the baseball world, but it was a busy few days last week for the Pirates. After the rough news of catcher Endy Rodriguez being lost for the season, the Bucs traded for a couple of outfielders and signed a former Cuban League pitcher.
The Bucs officially announced the free agent signing of first baseman Rowdy Tellez on Friday. He is next in line to play some in the field and be at least a left-handed designated hitter option.
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There were a pair of outfielders the Pirates traded for who could challenge to be starters this year. It would depend on how much Henry Davis catches and how Josh Palacios, Ji-Hwan Bae or other young players do in a second season.
Billy McKinney
· A former first-round pick of the A’s out of high school in 2013, the left-hand throwing and hitting 29-year-old comes over for international slot money.
· He’s played in 311 MLB games and won’t be a free agent until 2027.
· Last year in 48 games with the Yankees hit .227 with a .320 on-base percentage and a .726 OPS. He hit six home runs with 14 RBI in 128 official at bats.
· While he strikes out a quarter of his at bats, he walks in nearly 12% of them.
· He played left, right and centerfield and also a game at first base for the Yankees last year and made no errors in 121 chances.
· He has also played for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and A’s
Edward Olivares
· The 6’2”, 190-pound right-handed hitter comes from the Royals for minor-league second baseman Deivis Nadal.
· He’s played in 230 MLB games and won’t be a free agent until 2027
· Last year he played in 107 games with the Royals with 23 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs (averaging 416 feet, fourth longest in the American League), 36 RBI, 11 stolen bases with a .263 average, .317 OBP and .769 OPS
· He strikes out 17% of the time and walks only 6%
· Last season he played 54 games in left field, three in right and two in center and was the designated hitter 42 times.
· In 2022, he hit .286 with a .333 OBP with eight doubles and four home runs in 174 at bats with the Royals. In four years with KC hit .261 with 34 doubles and 23 homers in 217 games.
An intriguing signing is Cuban right-handed pitcher Enmanuel Chapman who worked out for teams towards the end of the summer in the Dominican Republic. He’s 25 years-old and the numbers aren’t impressive, 51.1 innings, 9.82 ERA, 58 walks to 46 strikeouts with a 2.55 WHIP in three seasons. Last year in 16 games (three starts), 24 earned runs allowed in 13 innings with 13 strikeouts and 19 walks. He does have a plus-fastball which has been clocked at 98 mph and signed to a minor league contract.
Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey reports the Pirates are in talks of bringing back Andrew McCutchen for another season in 2024.