Recent waiver claim likely to see a lot of action
CHICAGO — Say this about Williams Jerez, a lefthanded reliever the Pirates claimed Friday off waivers from the San Francisco Giants: There’s likely a pretty good opportunity here.
For a variety of reasons, too.
The Pirates bullpen has struggled, for one, with that unit pitching to a 4.81 ERA prior to a game Saturday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, the ninthhighest in baseball. There also likely will be a need for a left-handed option in 2020 assuming Francisco Liriano — who’s 35 with a 5.04 ERA over his past 32 appearances — does not return.
It looks like, for the final two weeks of the 2019 season, Jerez will compete with Wei-Chung Wang for a left-handed setup role in 2020.
“We think he has a chance to be more effective, especially a left-on-left option as well,” said manager Clint Hurdle, who will try and give Jerez a chance to face lefties and righthanded hitters the rest of the way. “Like the arm. Like the age. There’s a lot of things we liked. We’ve followed him for a while.”
Jerez spent the majority of the season with Class AAA Sacramento, where he was 4-4 with two saves and a 3.86 ERA in 47 games. In six appearances with the Giants this season, Jerez had a 2.70 ERA, though he had a 1.950 WHIP and more walks (6) than strikeouts (4).
Whenever he does pitch — Jerez said he expects to make his first appearance Sunday — Hurdle said the southpaw’s changeup in an undervalued pitch the Pirates might try to rely more on.
“The fastball playing at the top of the zone, the slider usage ... he has a changeup that we probably like a little bit better than what it’s been used in his career,” Hurdle said. “The left-handed option is good.”
Jerez, 27, was a secondround pick of the Red Sox in 2011. He appeared in 17 games with the Angels last season before he was traded to San Francisco for current Pirates reliever Chris Stratton on March 25.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity,” Jerez said. “I’m excited to go out there and compete.”
Expect to see a lot of Jerez the rest of the way, as the Pirates sort through what they have with him and Wang, who has held lefthanded hitters to a .196 (9for-46) average this season.
Coffee time
Around 2 o’clock Friday, roughly an hour before first pitch, three Pirates rookies left the clubhouse and ventured across the street to Starbucks, coffee order in hand. Not their own, mind you. For some good-natured, rookie-based fun, Alex McRae, Geoff Hartlieb and Mitch Keller handed the Starbucks employee working the register a piece of white paper with 15 coffee orders scribbled down by Joe Musgrove.
McRae, Hartlieb and Keller split the bill three ways.
“Some people wanted some pictures, so we took some pictures while we were sitting there waiting for coffee then walked back,” McRae said. “People were having a good time with it. You could hear in the background, ‘Ha, rookies!’ It was fun.”