45.5 F
Pittsburgh

Pirates Sign Justin Masterson to Minor League Deal

Published:

According to Jon Heyman, the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to sign 31-year-old right-handed pitcher Justin Masterson to a minor league deal. He pitched last season for the Boston Red Sox, where he made nine starts and nine relief appearances, posting a 5.61 ERA in 59.1 innings.

We have heard that the Pirates were connected to Masterson multiple times this off-season, so it looks like they finally were able to agree on a suitable deal. Masterson was once a top pitcher with the Cleveland Indians not that long ago. In 2014, he made 25 starts and threw 128.2 innings, with a 5.88 ERA and 116 strikeouts, so he has had two straight down seasons. Before that he had a 3.45 ERA in 2013 and averaged over 200 innings per season from 2011-13.

It’s a minor league deal, so there is no harm adding him to see if they can help him to get back where has was pre-2014. The Pirates are short on early season starter depth due to all of the prospects at Indianapolis, so there is a chance Masterson could see some time in that role with the Pirates. It will depend on how long it takes him to get stretched out, and of course, how well he pitches. It’s also possible he could provide relief depth.

UPDATE 6:05 PM: The Pirates announced the deal as official.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

Related Articles

Article Drop

Latest Articles