Major Roster Moves: Pirates Sign Experienced 29-Year-Old Pitcher to the Team

The team has signed a right-handed pitcher to a minor league deal, as reported by his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He is expected to receive an invitation to major league spring training.

At 29 years old, he is returning to the franchise after having pitched for several teams throughout his career. Over the past five seasons, he has accumulated 169 innings, posting a 4.58 earned run average while playing for various clubs, including the Mariners, Guardians, White Sox, Mets, Orioles, Dodgers, and Red Sox.

Early in his career, he was known for his wildness but has since become more controlled, albeit at the cost of some strikeouts. During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he struck out 29.3% of batters faced while walking 15.3%. More recently, his strikeout rate has decreased to 20.3%, with a lower walk rate of 9.8%.

In 2023, he spent most of his time with the team but was claimed off waivers by the White Sox in September. Approaching 2024, he experienced a whirlwind season, moving between the Mets, Orioles, back to the Mets, and then to the Dodgers and Red Sox through trades and waivers. He elected free agency after Boston passed him through waivers in August.

Throughout those changes, he pitched 45 innings in 2024, posting a 6.20 ERA with average strikeout and walk rates of 21.6% and 8.2%. His .346 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate were indicators of bad luck, leading to ERA estimators like his 4.26 FIP and 3.84 SIERA suggesting he performed better than his actual ERA.

The team is on the verge of losing Aroldis Chapman, Jalen Beeks, and Ryan Borucki to free agency, prompting them to add some non-roster bullpen depth by reintegrating a familiar player.

Yohan Ramírez still has less than three years of service time and could potentially be retained for multiple seasons, though his out-of-options status may complicate his chances of maintaining a roster spot.

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