The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Brady Dragmire off waivers from the Texas Rangers. If that sounds familiar, it’s because they lost Dragmire on waivers to the Rangers 12 days ago. Two months earlier, the Pirates acquired him from the Blue Jays for cash considerations.
Since nothing has obviously changed with Dragmire since the Pirates acquired him at the start of the off-season, here is the write-up from Tim Williams that was posted back on October 5th when the Pirates originally acquired him:
“Dragmire was a 17th round pick by Toronto in 2011, signing for $250,000, and made it up to Double-A this year, working as a reliever. He didn’t have the best results, with a 4.38 ERA in 72 innings, along with a 5.1 K/9 and a 3.5 BB/9. The strikeouts were better last year in High-A, where he had an 8.1 K/9, and continued with an 11.5 K/9 in the Arizona Fall League over 11 innings.
The appeal with Dragmire would be his fastball, which sits 93-96 MPH, touching 97, and has sinking action. He pairs that with a slider and a mid-80s changeup. The changeup is his second best pitch, and has sinking action, probably due to him throwing it with a two-seam grip. He’s been working on upgrading the slider the last few years, but the pitch is below average.
Dragmire rated as the #16 prospect in the Toronto system heading into the 2016 season, according to Baseball America. They noted that Blue Jays officials felt he could reach the majors on his sinker alone, with a Seth Maness comp. He might have fallen a bit since then, as they’re giving him up for cash and clearing him off the 40-man roster. He still has two option years remaining, so look for the Pirates to give him a shot as future bullpen depth, hoping the pitch-to-contact and fastball/changeup combo works better for him going forward.”
It’s possible that Dragmire might not be done with his roster shuffling this off-season. The Pirates 40-man roster is now full, and they already tried to sneak him through waivers once this off-season. They might try it again when they need a roster spot for a free agent signing. If they’re successful, then he could be stashed at Indianapolis and serve as bullpen depth.
