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Pirates Sign Pitcher Hector Noesi to a Minor League Deal

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Ken Rosenthal reports that the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right-handed pitcher Hector Noesi to a minor league deal.

Noesi pitched for the Miami Marlins in 2019, making four starts and eight relief appearances. He had an 8.46 ERA, a 24:14 SO/BB ratio and a 1.59 WHIP in 27.2 innings. He debuted in the majors in 2011, though he didn’t have a big league appearance during the 2016-18 seasons, spending that time pitching in Korea.

In 57 starts and 58 relief appearances over six seasons and five big league teams, the 32-year-old Noesi has a 5.51 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 423 innings. He is currently with Tigres del Licey of the Dominican winter league, where he allowed one run over four innings in his first start six days ago.

This clearly looks like a depth option out of the bullpen. With the way the Pirates went through injuries last year, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone with big league experience down in Indianapolis if they have to go through options again. He almost certainly received a Spring Training invite and will at least compete for a bullpen spot, especially with 26-man rosters next year. The worst case with a minor league deal is that he doesn’t make the team, so there’s no risk here. Assuming the deal is completed/official by Thursday morning, he will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

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.

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