The Pittsburgh Pirates have added five players ahead of next month’s Rule 5 draft and dropped four players to make room on the 40-man roster, which is now full. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce have all been added. Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau, Williams Jerez and Luis Escobar have all been designated for assignment. For more on the players added, check out our Rule 5 preview from this morning. More on this shortly.
ROSTER MOVES: The Pirates have added the following 5 players to their 40-man roster.
Blake Cederlind (RHP)
Will Craig (INF)
Oneil Cruz (INF)
Ke’Bryan Hayes (INF)
Cody Ponce (RHP)Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau, Luis Escobar and Williams Jerez have been designated for assignment
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 21, 2019
Of the players designated for assignment, the only surprising one is Luis Escobar. He has better stuff than either of the two pitchers they added today and he’s also the youngest of the group. He doesn’t throw quite as hard as Cederlind, but he has two better off-speed pitches and he’s able to hold velocity as a starter. Escobar’s main issue has been control, which comes and goes. He excelled as a starter in Triple-A (1.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, .127 BAA in five outings) before the Pirates made the odd decision to put him in relief when he wasn’t doing well earlier in the season in that role. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get picked up on waivers.
Agrazal saw a lot of time with the Pirates this season, making 14 starts and a relief appearance. He had a 4.91 ERA, which came with a 5.90 FIP and a 5.0 SO/9IP. He had a nice bounce back season after three different significant injuries in the previous two seasons. The only problem was that his velocity was well off of his pre-injury peak when his prospect status was at its highest point.
DuRapau got a chance in the majors as the Pirates dealt with numerous injuries. He was a deep depth option, but one they had to use for a time. He’s 27 years old and had a 9.35 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP in 17.1 innings.
Jerez was picked up late off waivers and gave up three runs in 3.2 innings with the Pirates. The 27-year-old reliever has a 5.33 ERA, a 1.82 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.
If Escobar clears waivers, he will be the best player available for the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft. You would expect a team to pick him up now when they would pay much less and not be forced to leave him in the majors. After him, James Marvel, Lolo Sanchez and Greensboro reliever Yerry De Los Santos are the three best options available.
