Morning Rundown: Pittsburgh Pirates sign a pair of lefties, Orioles sign an outfielder
Orioles make a signing, Gray elects free agency
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Tim Mayza and Ryan Borucki, two left-handed relievers, on Monday. Mayza's deal was a major league contract, and Borucki’s was a minor league deal.
Mayza, 33, has a career 3.88 ERA pitching primarily for the Toronto Blue Jays. He did pitch 15 games for the New York Yankees at the end of the 2024 season. It was a rough season for Mayza, posting a 6.33 ERA, although he did pitch better once getting to New York.
He’s a sinker/slider pitcher. The sinker was worth a +13 Run Value in 2023 but slipped to a -3 RV last year. The velocity and whiff rate dropped, playing a part in the decrease in production.
Borucki struggled to stay healthy last year, spending the last two seasons with the Pirates. He posted a 2.45 ERA in 40.1 innings in 2023 and then a 7.36 in 11 IP last year.
He’s another sinker/slider left-handed pitcher.
Both pitchers began their major league careers with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Baltimore Orioles have signed free agent outfielder Dylan Carlson to a one-year contract worth $975,000.
Carlson, 26, combined to put up a 4.3 fWAR during the 2021 and 2022 seasons but has been worth a -1.1 fWAR in every other season.
He hit .266/.343/.437 with 18 home runs as a 22-year-old with the Cardinals in 2021 but has 16 total in the three years since. Carlson was dealt to the Rays at the deadline in exchange for Shawn Armstrong, a reliever.
Carlson slides into an outfield that is heavy on left-handed hitters. He’s hit left-handed pitching well, posting a 122 wRC+ in his career, making him an ideal platoon candidate going forward.
Infielder Tristan Gray has cleared waivers and opted for free agency, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Gray was claimed off waivers by the Pirates early in the offseason but was DFA when the Andrew McCutchen signing became official.
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There's underwhelming, and then there's what this Pirates off-season has been. I wasn't expecting a massive huge splash of an off-season, but my goodness have they been essentially non-players across the spectrum.
The P-G writeup on the Frazier signing says that his ability to play the outfield is part of the thinking.
So there you have it: the Pirates have solved their right field problem.
This organization is truly pathetic.