Pirates Sign Nate Webb To Minor League Deal

The Pirates are in agreement with righty Nate Webb on a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training, per Robert Murray of Fansided. Webb had previously been DFA’d and non-tendered by the Royals.

Webb, who had been DFA’d by the Royals on Tuesday before the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft, was non-tendered on Friday, sending him straight to free agency. The 25-year-old was limited to 33 1/3 innings of 9.99 ERA ball across three minor league levels in 2022, missing two and a half months due to injuries.  The bulk of his 2022 season was spent with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where the former 34th-round pick pitched 26 1/3 innings to a 9.57 ERA with a low 21.1% strikeout rate and a solid 7.0% walk rate.

Despite this weak regular season performance, Webb had a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League (5 2/3 innings pitched, zero earned runs, six strikeouts, and two walks). However, with only 28 2/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A (both from this past season), Webb will likely start the 2023 season in the Minors.