The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded right-handed pitcher Dario Agrazal to the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations. Agrazal had been designated for assignment last week, clearing room on the 40-man roster to protect five prospects from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.
Agrazal reached the majors in Pittsburgh this year, making 14 starts as an injury replacement. During that time he had a 4.91 ERA in 73.1 innings. He didn’t record a lot of strikeouts, but gave up almost two homers per nine innings. Agrazal profiled as a ground ball pitcher coming up through the minors, but only had a 39.9% ground ball rate with the Pirates this year, after a 50.5% rate in Triple-A.
Agrazal’s best pitch is his sinker, which sits in the low 90s. He also throws a slider and changeup. His upside is a middle reliever who won’t get strikeouts, but could get easy outs if his ground ball tendency returns. He would have been bullpen depth out of Triple-A in 2020 if he remained in the organization.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
