The Pittsburgh Pirates added right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras and outfielder Cal Mitchell to the active roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Colorado Rockies. Contreras is starting tonight’s game. To make room on the active roster, Heath Hembree and and Daniel Vogelbach have been placed on the injured list. To make room on the 40-man roster, Cam Alldred, who started for Indianapolis today, was designated for assignment.
Contreras was with the Pirates earlier this season and allowed three runs on four hits, three walks and ten strikeouts in 7.2 innings over three relief appearances. He was sent down to Triple-A Indianapolis to get stretched out as a starter, where he had a 2.66 ERA in 20.1 innings over five starts, with a 1.18 WHIP and an 11:24 BB/SO ratio.
Mitchell’s arrival was announced this morning. The 23-year-old right fielder was hitting .307/.362/.500 in 34 games for Indianapolis, with nine doubles, five homers, 6-for-6 in steals and an impressive strikeout rate. He put up a .759 OPS in 109 games for Altoona last year, then capped the season with a seven-game trial for Indianapolis. He was a second round draft pick in 2017 out of high school. You can read more on him in that link, which has other links for articles on Mitchell as well.
Vogelbach was placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain. He was hitting .241/.321/.457 in 34 games, mostly as the designated hitter. Hembree has struggled this year with an 8.10 ERA in 17 appearances, putting up a 1.80 WHIP in 13.1 innings. He was put on the 15-day IL, dated back to May 21st, with a right calf strain.
The 25-year-old Alldred debuted in the majors 12 days ago and made one scoreless appearance before being sent back to Indianapolis. He has a 2.42 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 22.1 innings with Indianapolis this season.
+ postsJohn started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Why trade when you can just give away….
Are you guys really throwing a fit over Aldred???? He will probably clears.
This is one bizarre phenomenon. Guys like Sulser and Aldred are dime a dozen arms. You can find guys like that under any rock. The herd is growing and the sheep will continue to follow.
Don’t think guys with an era under three in AAA are a dime a dozen or every team would have a dozen of them.
Maybe, but Hembree is not a major leaguer either. He has not been good since 2016. If the point of this season and last is to let the young guys prove themselves, then stop wasting roster spots on guys like Hembree, Vanmeter etc…… It’s just comical how BC has handled the roster since he’s been here.
Alldred himself isn’t entirely the point. This is a statement by GMBS that he still thinks he’s done a fine job with deployment. The three new guys are only up because it was time. It has nothing to do with guys like Hembree, VanM, Yoshi, and all the waiver wonders being terrible. And it certainly has nothing to do with GMBS making a fool of himself on Sunday and triggering a blistering response from every corner of the Pgh media. Oh, no, the Pirates need all those sub-replacement deadenders.
If not, There are some guys in Altoona that will be needing his spot soon.
Impossible to come up with an argument to defend designating Aldred over Hembree or Beede.
How is it they can’t seem to figure out how bad some of these other players are, like Hembree, yet took them about a week with Sulser and Alldred to decide, “yeah, we don’t need them”.
Just spitballen but they are starting the upward mobility and need spots soon for guys at AAA. Alldred and Sulser were not going to be in the plans but wanted to reward them for the work put in so they gave them both a cup of coffee before letting them go. Hembree and Beede are both DFA’s to be named later. Neither will be long for the roster as they bring up guys or bring guys back off of the 60day soon.
I mean, that’s logical, but at the same time I’m not sure that’s necessarily they’re plan.
First off, cause then why claim someone like Beede in the first place? Hembree at least you could say they signed him in off-season and are trying to “get their monies worth”, but Beede would make no sense. And especially in that case, why not just promote within the organization someone like Sulser or De Jong, rather than claim a “future DFA candidate”?
In addition, we’re still not sure how often they’re going to promote from Altoona to Indy. I could see maybe a pitcher here and there, like Matson being promoted, but they’ve shown they’re more likely to just go Altoona to Pittsburgh than Altoona to Indy.
DeJong was on IL and is here now. If they already decided that Sulser was not going to be in the long term future, why not kick the tires on a guy that had pedigree but had TJ? If it does not work out (looks like it is not) then can easily jettison the player as soon as the spot is needed. This is something a team that was playing for a playoff spot would not do but a team that is still building to play for such a spot will do because they are not in win now mode. If this move happened next season I would be more upset. There will be more internal interesting pieces to use next year instead of looking to see what may stick from the outside.
As for moving players up from Toona to AAA, if they Bucs move guys like Martin and Bae, they will need 40 man spots so they will not be just optioning guys back down. Will be more vets that are getting DFAd and most will not accept an outright now because they can. Will need to fill roster spots so they will come from below.
Cause Beede isn’t someone with pedigree? Outside of being drafted in 1st round twice, and outside of he went to Vandy. With all the pedigree talk I’ve seen people mention, I’d have thought he at least had maybe one year of absolutely dominating in the minors.
Did not claim he was with great pedigree but 2 different teams thought he was worth top to mid first round talent. All I was saying if you have a guy you know you are not going to keep and see another guy with a little bit of shine, you jettison the guy you were going to and get a closer look to see how shiny the other guy might be. Turns out the shine was a mirage in this case with Beede so now he will be a guy the Bucs will look to jettison. Like I said, there is a difference in doing something like this in season when you are not in position to compete and in season when you are trying to win. Next season they best not be kicking tires on a guy like Beede on the 40 man. Minor league deal in training camp or a minor league FA to fill a spot due to minor league injury would be the only way they should look at a Beede type going forward for the next several years.
But even from a Triple-A depth standpoint it doesn’t make sense, when talking about opening spots for promotions. Cause Indy still has guys like Eckelman and Murray, guys who really need to start considering life after baseball.
Beede, probably. Hembree, I wouldn’t be so sure.
You’ve done at least one impossible thing today so far.
That’s usually a sign of a good day.
LOL!! You got even….Don’t worry, Be happy! Still in the head 🙂
This!
Sunk costs……and roster mismanagement.
Frickin’ called the hammy…..Rabelo should not have sent Vogie on Sac Fly versus Cubs Suzuki in RF. The guy is not built for sudden spurts. That’s a rookie mistake by Rabelo…..and now it’s costing us one of our few productive bats.
Bet he first hurt it on the trip trip triple. His whole body had to be screaming by the time he got to 3rd let alone his hammy! His hammy said “That’s it, I’m done now” after Vogy was sent.
Thought the same on the triple. Then coming home aggravated it more.
Alldred getting the Sulser treatment. Wish him the best whenever he inevitably gets picked up by another team.
They took the chicken shit path.
The stoopid never stops. Idontcareington can’t give up his precious, sub-replacement deadenders. They’re like the family jewels.
Alldred Alldred Alldred
Oh for crying out loud!!!!!!
It makes no sense, none.
WTF. Cut Alldred but keep Fletcher and Breede.