Monday was the end of the regular season in the Dominican and Pablo Reyes confirmed that his winter season was over. It was an interesting 41 games for the 25-year-old, who will be playing for a bench spot with the Pittsburgh Pirates this upcoming spring. Reyes hit .255/.342/.326 in 165 plate appearances. That .668 OPS doesn’t sound like much, but the league average OPS this season was .624 in the Dominican.
The best part for Reyes this winter was helping out his versatility on defense. He made multiple starts at second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots. With all of that moving around, he committed just three errors, with one each at third base, second base and left field. That type of versatility gives him a better chance of making the team out of Spring Training, though even if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, he would be one of the first position players up if a spot opens.
On Tuesday, the Pirates signed catcher Steven Baron. Also on Tuesday, Baron announced that his winter season was over now that he signed with the Pirates. He played 11 games in the Dominican (teammates with Erik Gonzalez) and hit .258/.303/.387 in 31 at-bats.
There wasn’t much action on Tuesday, which is why we started with news. In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar continued his insane streak of not allowing a hit, although this wasn’t his best outing. He walked two batters and recorded two outs on fly balls, stranding an inherited runner. Escobar has an 0.93 ERA in 14 appearances and hasn’t allowed a hit since October 30th.
In Colombia, three Pirates saw action on Tuesday night. Carlos Arroyo had a single, walk, run scored and an RBI in two plate appearances. He came into the game as a pinch-hitter and finished up at second base. Arroyo is now hitting .196/.288/.261 in 18 games.
Francisco Acuna went 1-for-4 and split the game between shortstop and second base. He is hitting .231/.286/.308 through 21 games.
Edgar Barrios came off the bench and went 0-for-1 while finishing the game at shortstop. He is hitting .235/.361/.235 through 28 games.
