Looking at the fit for Sergio Alcantara and Ryder Ryan

The Pirates added a couple of minor league free agents on Monday, here's a look at how they fit into the organization

More often than not, minor league signings aren’t the flashiest things an organization can do, but it is necessary.

With four full-season teams and preparing for the inevitable injuries, teams will go through many players. While there is still work on the major league roster, the Pirates had quite a few players leave via minor league free agency, so there are also holes.

They’ve added two more names to the mix for 2024, signing infielder Sergio Alcantara and right-handed pitcher Ryder Ryan to minor league contracts.

Hunter Stratton also resigned after being non-tendered earlier in the offseason, but this article will focus on the new players in the organization.

Here’s how they could fit within the organization this year.

Sergio Alcantara, INF

Last year - Alcantara, 27, split the previous year between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks organization. In 98 games, he batted .268/.374/.402 with eight home runs and 51 RBI. He had a solid walk rate, 14.6%, and only struck out 23.3 K% while posting a slightly below-average wRC+ of 97.

What he brings - An infielder, Alcantara has primarily played shortstop but has bounced around throughout his minor league career. He’s a highly regarded defender, with FanGraphs grading his arm at a 70 and fielding a 55.

It’s been a lack of power that has kept him from establishing himself as even just a bench player in the majors.

That shows in his hitting metrics on Prospects Live, as his 95th percentile exit velocity was, at its best, 102.4 mph while with the Reno Aces in the PCL.

He didn’t chase out of the zone, posting a 20.9% (Iowa) and 25.2% (Reno) out-of-zone swing rate. His in-zone contact rate was 84.1%/85.8%, which put him in the range of players in the system like Enmanuel Terrero, Henry Davis, and Omar Alfonzo, all of whom have shown strong hit tools.

How he fits - Alcantara enters a fairly deep system regarding infielders, so he shouldn’t factor into the major league picture unless there is a long string of injuries.

Depending on how the major league roster shapes up, he could find himself as the starting shortstop for the Indianapolis Indians, which could push Tsung-Che Cheng back to Double-A.

That wouldn’t be the worst since he didn’t hit well in his first stint of facing Double-A pitching. His versatility will play well in Indianapolis since there is the potential to have players bounce back and forth between the majors and minors.

Ryder Ryan, RHP

Last year - Ryan pitched primarily for Tacoma, the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, although he did make his major league debut. He struck out two, walking another in his lone inning with the Mariners.

Ryan posted a 4-2 record at Tacoma with a 3.76 ERA in 55 innings pitched. He kept the walk rate under 10% (9.6%) and struck out 24.3% of the batters he faced.

What he brings - Ryan was ranked as the 44th-best prospect in the Texas Rangers system on FanGraphs in 2022 and was a former 30th-round pick.

He threw his slider over 50% of the time last year, mixing in a sinker that averaged 17.6” of horizontal run. He didn’t get many misses with the pitch but had a ground ball rate of 57.1%.

Ryan averaged 93 mph on his fastball and sinker last year, but FanGraphs reported him to have topped out at 98 mph previously.

While he doesn’t overly rely on swing-and-miss, his slider would be his go-to pitch, with a 31.3% whiff rate.

How he fits - The Pirates sure like their lower-arm slot pitchers, and Ryan fits that build.

Ryan will likely fill out a role in the Triple-A bullpen. That’s two minor league bullpen pitchers they’ve signed this offseason, with Ben Heller going along with Ryan and another they claimed off of waivers - Roddery Munoz.