On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates picked up pitcher Yoervis Medina off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. He has been pitching in Venezuela this winter and doing very well of late. In his last five outings combined for Cardenales de Lara, he has thrown 8.2 shutout innings, giving up two hits, two walks and he has eight strikeouts. The 27-year-old got off to a slow start, allowing seven earned runs over his first 6.1 innings.
As for action from Wednesday in Venezuela, Elias Diaz went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. He is now hitting .245/.318/.378 in 28 games this winter.
Wilfredo Boscan made his ninth start of the winter and it didn’t go well. He allowed four runs(three earned) on four hits and no walks, with two strikeouts. He announced the other day that he won’t pitch in the playoffs, so his season could be done. The regular season ends on December 29th, but his team has off the next couple days, so he may not pitch again unless they skip someone in the rotation. Boscan has a 3.32 ERA in 43.1 innings, with 24 strikeouts and a 2.54 GO/AO ratio.
A.J. Morris threw two perfect innings, retiring all six batters he faced, three by strikeouts. Morris has a 3.08 ERA in 38 innings, spread out over 20 appearances.
In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz was moved to the lead-off spot and it didn’t go so well the first day. He went 0-for-5 with a strikeout. He had a strong 14-game run that ended Tuesday when he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
In Colombia, Tito Polo had a couple nice games early this week, going a combined 4-or-7 with a double. That brought his slash line up to .307/.407/.493 in 75 at-bats. Harold Ramirez hasn’t played since the All-Star game last weekend. No reason has been given, but it could just be due to the amount of time he has already put in this winter between Mexico and Colombia.
In Mexico, Luis Heredia attempted to close out a 6-1 game on Wednesday night, but he couldn’t get through the ninth inning. He recorded two outs before leaving, but not before he allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. Heredia threw 29 pitches, 17 for strikes. He has a 5.68 ERA through 19 innings and 15 appearances.
Carlos Munoz went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. His average dropped to .240 through 179 at-bats.
The Dominican League wrapped up it’s schedule on Tuesday. The four playoff teams will begin play on December 27th, but there isn’t much of note among the teams left. The two players still in the Pirates’ system in the playoffs are Mel Rojas Jr. and Pedro Florimon. Unsigned free agents still playing are Gustavo Nunez, Wilkin Castillo and Andy Vasquez.
There is nothing on the schedule the next couple days, so the winter league coverage will resume after Saturday.
