Morning Rundown: Dauri Moreta 'break out' reliever, starting pitching options, Noah Syndergaard

Moreta picked as potential 'break out' reliever, free agent starting pitcher options, new team emerges in Noah Syndergaard talks

Photo Credit: Ryan Palencer

Mike Petriello of MLB.com wrote an article on six relief pitchers that could potentially break out during 2024, and Dauri Moreta was one of them.

Acquired from the Reds in the Kevin Newman trade, Moreta had a solid first season with the Pirates. In 58 innings pitched, the righty posted a 3.72 ERA with a 31.8% strikeout rate while holding opponents to a .405 OPS during ‘late and close’ situations.

A big part of that was his slider, which looks more like a screwball, which generated a 40.8% whiff rate and an opponent-expected batting average (xBA) of .167.

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Jose Negron of DKPittsburghSports talked about some starting pitching options that are still out there in free agency on Friday.

The Pirates brought in Marco Gonzales and Martin Perez this off-season but also lost Johan Oviedo for the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John, which left another rotation spot open.

While the Pirates have some internal options to fill those rotation spots, a veteran presence could help stabilize things and take some pressure off of the younger players.

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The Pirates were rumored to be interested in signing right-handed pitcher Noah Syndergaard, but another team has reportedly joined the conversation.

Apparently, the San Diego Padres are also interested in bringing in the veteran pitcher.

According to MLBTradeRumors write-up, the Pirates and Padres have been the only two teams who have publicly (reportedly) shown interest in Syndergaard.

Syndergaard, 31, posted a 6.51 ERA in 88.2 innings pitched that spanned 18 starts while striking out just 56 batters last year with the Dodgers and Guardians.