The Pirates announced this afternoon that they have claimed right-hander Edwin Uceta off waivers from the Tigers. Detroit had designated Uceta for assignment ahead of Opening Day alongside Rony Garcia, who was outrighted to Triple-A, in order to make room for Chasen Shreve and Trey Wingenter on the 40-man roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander JT Brubaker was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Uceta has been optioned to Triple-A.
Brubaker had previously been placed on the 15-day IL to open the season due to what the Pirates termed as “elbow discomfort”. No timetable was given for Brubaker’s return, but given his transfer to the 60-day IL, it’s safe to say he won’t return until at least June. Though Brubaker has been part of the Pirates rotation since the shortened 2020 season with an unimpressive career ERA of 4.99, there was reason for optimism headed into 2023, as his 2022 season featured solid peripherals that indicated he could be a quality starter going forward: despite a 4.69 ERA, he had a solid 3.92 FIP along with a 44% groundball rate, a 22.8% strikeout rate, and a 8.4% walk rate that all paint him as a roughly league average starter for the 2022 campaign. With Brubaker set to miss an extended period of time, Johan Oviedo, who the Pirates acquired from the Cardinals in last summer’s Jose Quintana deal, figures to have a more secure hold on a rotation spot.
As for Uceta, the 25 year-old right-hander has seen big league action in each of the past two seasons, but has struggled in a small sample both times. Between his time with the Dodgers in 2022 and the Diamondbacks in 2022, Uceta has posted a 6.27 ERA in 37 1/3 innings, though his 4.46 FIP indicates there may be some bad luck baked into those results. The Tigers claimed him on waivers this offseason before designating him for assignment after he posted a 4.91 ERA in camp, though he did strike out 29.2% of batters faced during his 11 innings of work this spring. Uceta has demonstrated the ability to work in either short relief or multi-inning long relief during his career and figures to serve as depth for the Pirates bullpen in Triple-A.
More must-reads: