After trading Robert Stephenson, Pirates turn to new options for 7th-inning role in bullpen
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have expressed confidence that once a game reaches the seventh inning, their bullpen can close the door on a victory.
After trading right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson to Tampa Bay for minor-league shortstop Alika Williams on Friday, the Pirates now have to determine who will serve as the seventh-inning bridge to setup man Colin Holderman and closer David Bednar.
“I think it’s a little bit TBD, but honestly I think one of the reasons we were able to make this trade is because of what these other guys have done,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “When you talk about trading somebody out of your bullpen, it’s because other guys have pushed themselves into other situations.”
Shelton mentioned righties Dauri Moreta and Yohan Ramirez and lefties Jose Hernandez and Rob Zastryzny as candidates for high-leverage situations, given their collective success this season.
“I think we’ll still continue to match up,” Shelton said, “but in this situation, I think we have to give a lot of credit to our pitching group with the fact that we’ve had guys pushing themselves into those roles.”
Moreta has thrived in high-pressure situations. He has allowed only one of 18 inherited runners (5.2%) to score this season — the lowest percentage in baseball — and ranks fifth among NL relievers with a .131 batting average against and is tied for fifth with 36 strikeouts.
“It doesn’t matter where they put me. I’ll be ready for whatever happens,” said Moreta, acquired from the Cincinnati Reds for Kevin Newman last November. “I can’t explain how happy I am now with how things are going. It’s amazing.”
Hernandez, selected from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Rule 5 Draft in December, has made five consecutive scoreless appearances and has the lowest ERA (2.25) and ranks third in batting average against (.207) among NL rookie relievers.
Their early-season dominance has made Moreta and Hernandez the most likely candidates to fill the seventh-inning role.
“I’ve seen them do nothing but,” Holderman said. “They’re both confident. I don’t think it matters who you put in that situation, I think they’ll both have success. It could be anyone in the bullpen. We’ve been amazing, and we plan to keep it going.”
That’s not to discount Ramirez, who has 14 strikeouts in his last seven appearances. His 1.42 ERA is the fifth-lowest among NL relievers and was just 0.69 in eight appearances in May.
Trading Stephenson caught Pirates relievers by surprise, even though he missed time in spring training and early this season with forearm and elbow issues and was 0-3 with a 5.54 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 17 appearances this season.
“It hurts seeing Bobby go away. He was a part of the glue of the bullpen,” Holderman said. “He’s a good dude, a great teammate. It’s a great opportunity for him, and he’s going to dominate. I’m glad we don’t see him again the rest of the year.”
After Stephenson also gave up a three-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning of a 6-3 loss at Seattle last Sunday, the Pirates opted to use Moreta and Hernandez as the bridge to Holderman in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
That might have been a hint of them heading in a new direction, one Holderman hopes brings the return to the back end of the bullpen closing out games with regularity like it did in April.
“We’ve made some great bounds in the right direction, and I think a lot of the league has noticed that we don’t mess around when the starter comes out the game,” Holderman said. “You’re not going to get an easy inning or two. You used to say, ‘Hey, it’s good to get the starter out early because you want to get to the ’pen.’ I don’t think that’s the case here.”
Source: TribLIVE
