The Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a minor league deal with corner infielder Jake Lamb. They also made a pair of international signings last week as that signing period came to a close.
The agreement with Lamb was first reported by Jason Mackey. Lamb is entering his age 33 season, with parts of ten years in the big leagues. His best years were back in 2016/2017, when he combined for 59 homers between the two seasons. His playing time over the last four years has been on the level of a depth player out of Triple-A. Lamb provides power, and has shown an ability to still get on base more than 30% of the time. He’s likely to serve as depth out of Triple-A, where the Pirates are thin at first base options.
INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS
The deal with Chapman was reported by Francys Romero. The 25-year-old Cuban right-hander received a $200,000 bonus at the end of the international signing period on December 15th. He throws a fastball in the 93-98 MPH range, and has pitched in the Cuban National Series across three years. Chapman has dealt with control issues during that time, mostly working as a reliever.
The Pirates also signed South Korean-born shortstop Jayden Kim, who was playing in Australia at the age of 17. Kim is the son of former pro baseball player and MLB scout Daniel Kim. The elder Kim recently joined the Pirates after previously scouting with the Twins. He notes that the Pirates’ interest in his son pre-dates him joining the organization. The younger Kim thanked Pirates scouts Max Kwan and Tony Harris for getting him signed.
RODDERY MUNOZ AND HIS TWO WEEK PIRATES CAREER
The Pirates also traded right-handed pitcher Roddery Munoz to the Miami Marlins for cash considerations. Munoz was added off waivers from the Nationals at the start of December, but was removed following the addition of first baseman Rowdy Tellez.
