Pirates land 5 for spring training
Left-handers Derek Holland and Robbie Erlin agreed to minor league contracts with the Pirates along with catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Charlie Tilson, and all four will report to big-league spring training.
Holland, 33, is 78-78 with a 4.54 ERA in 11 seasons, including eight with the Texas Rangers. Holland split time between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs in 2019, going 2-5 with a 6.08 ERA.
The Pirates also agreed to an $850,000, one-year contract with JT Riddle, who became a free agent when Miami failed to offer a contract by the Dec. 2 deadline.
Riddle played in 51 games for the bigleague club in Miami in the 2019 season, with seven starts at shortstop and 26 in center field.
Riddles has shown athleticism and diversity with his position play throughout his career. Overall, he’s made 176 appearances at short and 31 in center. All of his appearances in center field were last season.
The Pirates could play Riddle in the infield, or he could help fill the gap in the outfield left by the Starling Marte trade earlier this week.
Riddle’s season was cut short due to a right forearm strain in July. He attempted a return with four rehab games for the Marlins’ Class AAA affiliate.
The Marlins selected Riddle in the 13th round of the 2013 draft. He has been in the Marlins organization for his whole career and has a .229 batting average with 79 RBIs and 18 home runs in 223 big league games.
Riddle is on the 40-man roster, which now is full.
Holland adds some spring-training competition for roles with the club this season. Holland can opt out of the contract if he doesn’t make the opening-day roster.
The 33-year-old’s work in 2019 wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring. He posted the 6.08 ERA over 84⅓ innings pitched as a starter and out of the bullpen.
If you go more in-depth with stats, it was even uglier. Holland had a minus-1.2 WAR and a 1.51 WHIP.
If you’re looking for upside, you can simply look at his 2018 line — 2.1 WAR, 169 strikeouts, 3.57 ERA, and 1.29 WHIP as a starter for the Giants.
Holland has a fastball that can hit the mid-90 mph. He’s at his best when his sinker and slider are working, and he also works in a curveball and changeup.
If Holland wants to start, he likelywill be competing with Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl for the fifth spot in the Pirates rotation.
If Holland works out of the bullpen, he’ll have Erlin and Sam Howard to compete with for left- handed opportunities.
Susac has played in 113 games in his five-year MLB career, most notably making 52 appearances for the Giants in 2015. He’s a career .221 hitter and spent most of last season on injured reserve in the Royals system after his left wrist was broken.
Tilson played in 54 games for the White Sox last season, hitting .229 with 12 RBIs. He’s made 39 appearances in right, 19 in left and 14 in center during his three-year career.
Mets
Matt Adams agreed to a minor league contract with New York hoping to earn a job as a backup and a bat with pop off the bench. The 31-year-old who played at Slippery Rock University is primarily a first baseman but also has played the outfield. The Cardinals drafted Adams in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft. He batted .226 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs in 333 plate appearances last year for the World Series champion Nationals, hitting 12 of his homers in June and July. New York has NL rookie of the year Pete Alonso at first.
Astros
Darren Baker doesn’t see anyone better to lead Houston back to respectability than his dad. A college second baseman at the University of California, he insists that comes from a baseball player’s perspective and not just as a proud son. “I think it’s a perfect fit. Who else to steer a ship or right a ship than my dad? I genuinely believe it. Too much integrity — he’s the greatest man I’ve ever met, on and off the field. I think it’s a match made in heaven, I think it’s fate. Seeing him in an Astros jersey, it’s going to be a crazy experience.”
Elsewhere
Three-time All-Star outfielder Curtis Granderson announced his retirement after 16 seasons in the major leagues. Granderson played for seven teams. He was an All-Star for Detroit in 2009, and for the Yankees in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, he led the majors with 136 runs and led the American League with 119 RBIs while hitting 41 homers. In 2007 with Detroit, he became only the third player to collect at least 30 doubles, 20 triples, 20 homers and 20 steals in a season. Last year Granderson batted .183 in 138 games for the Miami Marlins. He also played for Toronto, Milwaukee, Dodgers and Mets, totaling 344 career homers and 937 RBIs while batting .249.