Angels pitching prospect picked up; Crick DFA’ed
PHOENIX — The Pirates added some pitching depth and removed one of their bullpen mainstays to do it, acquiring left-hander Dillon Peters from the Los Angeles Angels for cash and assigning him to Class AAA Indianapolis.
The real intrigue, however, came with the corresponding move: To create space on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated Kyle Crick for assignment.
Peters, 28, has spent the entire 2021 season with Class AAA Salt Lake, where he went 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in eight starts. The Angels DFA’d him July 14.
A 10th-round pick of the Marlins in 2014, Peters made his MLB debut with Miami in 2017. He pitched for the Marlins again the following season before he was traded to the Angels Nov. 21, 2018.
Peters has gone 7-8 with a 5.83 ERA in 31 MLB games, including 24 starts. He has a home run rate of 1.8 per nine innings while walking 4.1 per nine and striking out 6.9.
“Feel-to-pitch guy. Really commands the zone,” manager Derek Shelton said of Peters. “We’ve heard good things about him as a person. It adds to our starter depth throughout the organization.”
Peters throws four pitches — a four- seam fastball, changeup, slider and curveball, with the four-seamer averaging around 91 mph. His busiest season came in 2019, when Peters made 17 appearances, including 12 starts, for the Angels. He pitched to a 5.38 ERA in those games, allowing 18 home runs in 72 innings.
Peters made just one appearance in 2020. Los Angeles
DFA’ed Peters when it signed veteran outfielder Adam Eaton.
“Our baseball operations group really like him,” Shelton said. “I think the ability to command the strike zone is something that they isolated. With left-handers who can do that, that can play.”
The Pirates acquired Crick from the San Francisco Giants Jan. 15, 2018, along with Bryan Reynolds in the Andrew McCutchen trade. Crick enjoyed his best pro season the next year, going 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 60⅓ innings, striking out 65, walking 23 and giving up just 3 home runs.
A regression soon followed. Crick saw his ERA jump to 4.96, while his home run rate jumped from 0.4 to 1.8 per nine and his average number of walks went from 3.4 to 6.4. Crick was hurt during much of 2020, sidelined with two side strains.
Crick made 27 appearances for the Pirates this season, pitching to a 4.44 ERA in 24⅓ innings and walking a career-high 7.0 per nine. The right-handed slider specialist been charged with six earned runs over his past four outings (3⅓ innings) and eight earned runs in his previous eight games (6⅔ innings).
Crick was on the injured list from May 10-22 with a right triceps strain and had a 1.59 ERA prior to the IL stint. In 12 innings since returning, Crick has a 7.50 ERA.
With trade options exhausted, the Pirates now will wait to see if another team claims Crick. If that doesn’t happen, they could potentially reassign him to Class AAA Indianapolis.
“It’s a challenging decision,” Shelton said. “We’re just trying to give opportunities to other guys in our bullpen, and because of that, he ended up being the odd man out on the 40-man.”
Dixon signs
The Pirates announced that they signed Brenden Dixon, a shortstop they drafted in the 20th round out of Weatherford College in Texas. Dixon hit .335 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, 39 RBIs and 7 stolen bases in 2021. That brings to eight the number of players the Pirates have signed from their 2021 class.
Minor league report
Catching up on some happenings with the Pirates’ top minor league affiliate:
• Beau Sulser has been the club’s best starting pitcher. He’s 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his past eight appearances ( seven starts) and ranks third in the Class AAA East with a 3.41 ERA. He’s ninth in strikeouts per nine innings (8.75).
• In the bullpen, Braeden Ogle has a 0.90 ERA and .152 batting average against over his previous seven appearances. Shea Spitzbarth has a 0.42 ERA over his past 18 outings.
• Anthony Alford hasn’t seen a drop in his production since returning from a wrist injury. He’s hitting .405 with a 1.213 OPS in 23 games dating to June 23.
• After hitting just .177 in June, outfielder Bligh Madris has bounced back nicely this month, hitting .300 in July. He hit his second career grand slam Sunday.
Around the horn
There was no corresponding move for Peters/Crick. The Pirates simply played a man short Monday night. … Second baseman Adam Frazier had the day off Monday. Shelton said most of his regulars will get at least one on this road trip.