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What Led to the Pirates Re-Signing Buddy Borden?

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BRADENTON, Fla. – On June 10th, the Tampa Bay Rays released right-handed pitcher Buddy Borden. The Rays originally acquired Borden from the Pittsburgh Pirates, sending Sean Rodriguez the other way in December 2014.

At the time of the deal, Borden had just returned from a week-long trip to the Pirates’ Dominican Academy with teammates Justin Topa and Austin Meadows. He received a call from Pirates’ Director of Minor League Operations Larry Broadway informing him of the trade.

“I was really excited to be traded at the time,” Borden said. “It was a fun, new experience. It was kind of like being drafted all over again. So I enjoyed my time over there with the Rays.”

There was probably reason for Borden to be excited at the time. The lower level rotations in the Pirates’ system were getting crowded. Borden was slated to move up to High-A, where the Pirates would have had Steven Brault, Cody Dickson, Frank Duncan, Tyler Eppler, Clay Holmes, and Luis Heredia as options throughout the year. Combine that with the high upside arms like Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon, and there wasn’t a lot of opportunity as a starter in the system.

Then again, Borden found there wasn’t much opportunity in the Tampa Bay system either.

“I didn’t really know what to expect at the time,” Borden said of the trade. “But they had a full rotation from Low-A, the same way that we did in West Virginia. So I kind of went in, and the first three or four weeks I started out of the bullpen, and moved in [to the rotation] when someone moved up.”

Borden pitched well on the year, posting a 2.97 ERA in 127.1 innings. He had some control problems, with a 4.1 BB/9. That continued some issues he had in the Arizona Fall League the previous off-season, with 10 walks in 10.1 innings. The control got worse this year when he moved up to Double-A, with a 6.44 BB/9.

Part of the struggles this year might have been due to a switch to the bullpen, which was new for Borden.

“At the end of Spring Training, the last day they decided to move me to the bullpen,” Borden said of his assignment this season. “It was something I’ve never done before. I was starting to get used to it. So obviously different than having a five-day schedule.”

Borden was trying to adjust to the new approach, but wasn’t seeing the results, with a 5.22 ERA to go with the high walk rate. The Rays eventually gave up on him, as he fell behind other arms in the system.

“Thrown into the bullpen, it was different,” Borden said. “But I was trying to get the adjustments, and I think they just felt it was time to move on with the organization.”

A few friends in the Pirates’ system texted Broadway about giving Borden a shot. However, the Pirates were in the middle of the draft, dealing with a lot of injuries at the MLB level, and then working on signing picks and still dealing with a lot of injuries at the MLB level. As a result, Borden was placed on the back burner for two weeks, until he signed this past Thursday.

“It was a mutual interest, I believe, and I’m really happy it ended up working out,” Borden said of his return.

The right-hander returned to the system on Monday, throwing 3.2 innings with one unearned run allowed, while going on a 65 pitch limit due to his time off. The control issues didn’t seem to be an issue this time around.

“I think I just kind of got back to basics,” Borden said. “As a starter, your job is to command the fastball, and own both sides of the plate. I kind of went with that mentality. First inning, I was really amped up and a little bit nervous and excited. A couple of balls got away from me. I thought after that I settled in and was able to command my fastball better than I have this season.”

Borden featured a 90-93 MPH fastball on Monday, while mixing in some changeups and curveballs. This is about where he sat the last time he was in the system, touching mid-90s. He also saw improvements with his control before he left, and saw those same improvements when he returned. But the fact that Borden is 24 years old now, and in High-A ball, means his future isn’t looking as bright as it did before the trade.

Here was a report on Borden before the Sean Rodriguez deal, from the 2015 Prospect Guide (his report was removed from the book, which went to publishing after the deal):

Right now he sits in the 89-93 MPH range. He has a curveball that has put up some impressive strikeout numbers, sitting in the low 80s. The curve will only be more effective with better fastball command to set up strikeout counts.

One thing Borden needs to improve is his changeup. The Pirates have shown a trend of really pushing the changeup development when pitchers reach Bradenton. That is where Borden is slated to go in 2015, and the pitch will almost certainly be a focus. He’s got a feel for the pitch, and with some improvements it could eventually be an average offering.

Here was Borden on Monday, discussing his off-speed stuff:

“The changeup is coming along. Still working on it everyday. Same with the breaking ball. Learning how to throw it in different counts, different feels for it. It’s all a work in progress right now. Just trying to get better everyday with it.”

Overall, he’s in a similar place to where he was when he left the system. It remains to be seen how the Pirates will use him going forward. He will work out of the Bradenton rotation for now, replacing Jose Regalado. But if there’s any chance of him being a prospect, he’s going to need to move up to Altoona sooner, rather than later. At that point, he might have to make the transition to being a reliever, which didn’t work as well for him while he was with the Rays. However, the pitching has only gotten more crowded in the minors since the last time Borden was with the Pirates, so the relief pitching route might end up being his best chance of getting more than an organizational role with the team.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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