Rios may be a keeper in bullpen
CHICAGO — Yacksel Rios thought this could be it.
Designated for assignment by the Philadelphia Phillies July 29, Rios returned home and worried whether he would get another shot after struggling with his control and pitching to a 13.50 ERA in four appearances with Philadelphia, plus a 7.41 mark in 31 games with Class AAA Lehigh Valley.
“You just go home and wait, hoping something will happen,” Rios said. “It was scary, but I never let that get me down.”
To stay busy, Rios said he grabbed a bucket of baseballs and threw by himself at a net with a circle painted in the middle, much like James Marvel did when he chucked one baseball at a fence after the end of the International League season.
“It helps,” Rios said. “You can throw exactly how much you need.”
Five days after he was DFA’d, the Pirates claimed Rios off waivers, assigning the 6-foot-3 righty to their bullpen and believing his profile — his four-seam fastball has averaged 96.1 mph at the major league level, and he has struck out nearly a batter per inning in his MLB career — might eventually turn into something more.
Although Rios gave up a home run in his most recent appearance — he missed with a changeup to Giants third baseman Evan Longoria — it looks like the Pirates might have discovered something here.
Aside from that home run, the 26-year-old has otherwise pitched scoreless ball over 5⅓ innings (3.38 ERA) with the Pirates, walking one and striking out four. The velocity has been there, the same for the stuff. Meanwhile, Rios has thrown strikes 73 percent of the time.
“He’s been very effective,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “The fastball has been live. He’s shown the ability to spin the ball and change speeds. He’s made a very good first impression.” So have the Pirates, apparently. Rios, who made his MLB debut for the Phillies in 2017, said he appreciates how the Pirates have approached him. He has been impressed with the amount of data they’ve given him, while pitching coach Ray Searage and others also have pushed him to make a few minor mechanical tweaks and use his changeup more.
The Caguas, Puerto Rico, native has thrown it just 6.9 percent of the time this season, but seven of those 10 have come since he joined the Pirates Sept. 4.
“I feel comfortable,” said Rios, who had a 2.35 ERA in nine appearances with Class AAA Indianapolis. “I refreshed who I was and tried to understand more about myself after everything that I went through.
Rios should be seen as an interesting piece. With a bullpen ERA of 4.74 (ninth-worst in baseball), the Pirates should be looking for any help they can get.
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” Rios said of maybe being in the Pirates bullpen in 2020. “Right now I’m just focused on what I have in front of me: Get on the mound, throw strikes, control the game and try to help my team.”
Health club
Hurdle said Starling Marte (sprained left wrist) could be available off the bench at some point this weekend, while the Pirates are optimistic that Chris Archer (right biceps tendinitis) will be able to throw a side session at Wrigley Field.
With Marte out, Bryan Reynolds has been the starter in center field, although Hurdle said he would like to get Reynolds a day off soon. Reynolds, a rookie, was not a September call-up last year and already has surpassed his career-high for games played in a season.
“I am mindful of Reynolds right now,” Hurdle said. “We may need to look for a day off for him even if it’s in this series or back when we get home against Seattle because he’s playing a month he’s never played.”
Hurdle said Felipe Vazquez, Keone Kela, Richard Rodriguez and Rios would be unavailable Friday because of how much they’ve been used lately.
No, for now
This past Sunday, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was asked a couple of questions about Josh Bell playing right field.
Huntington did not shoot down the move, nor did he say the Pirates would explore it.
Asked for his thoughts Friday, Hurdle took a similar approach, although the manager said he is against doing it this season.
“The fact that we have two weeks left, I think we’re both pretty much secure in the fact that we’re going to finish the season with where he is right now,” Hurdle said. “That wouldn’t be something I would want to even run by him at this point. He should be focusing on his offense, finishing the season strong and continuing to work at first base.”
Reliever claimed
The Pirates claimed left-handed reliever Williams Jerez off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
Jerez, a 27-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, attended spring training with the Los Angeles Angels before he was traded to the Giants March 25 for Pirates reliever Chris Stratton.
In six games with the Giants this season, Jerez had a 2.70 ERA. He went 4-4 in 56 innings with Class AAA Sacramento, striking out 61 and pitching to an ERA of 3.86.
To make room on their 40-man roster, the Pirates moved Kyle Crick (right hand surgery) to the 60-day injured list.