The Pirates announced they’ve selected right-hander Austin Brice onto the major league roster. Pittsburgh placed righty Yerry De Los Santos on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.
Brice is back for a second stint with the Bucs. He made two appearances, tossing 3 2/3 innings of two-run ball, before being designated for assignment. Brice passed unclaimed through waivers and accepted an assignment back to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he’s logged the majority of the season. The 30-year-old owns a 4.41 ERA through 34 2/3 innings of relief there, fanning batters at a quality 27.2% clip against a solid 8.6% walk rate. Brice has also induced ground-balls at an above-average clip in the minors to earn his way back.
A former ninth-round pick, Brice has gotten to the majors in each of the last seven years. He’s pitched for the Marlins on two separate occasions, along with stints as a Red, Red Sox and Pirate. In 165 2/3 career innings, he owns a 5.16 ERA with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates. Brice is out of minor league option years, meaning he’ll have to stick on the active roster or again be designated for assignment.
De Los Santos, 24, made his major league debut this season. He’s come out of the bullpen 26 times, posting a 4.91 ERA but showing more interesting peripherals. He’s averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball, induced grounders at a very strong 52.8% clip and posted a league average strikeout rate (albeit without many whiffs on a per-pitch basis). That’ll unfortunately be his entire body of work for 2022, as he’s dealing with a lat strain in his throwing shoulder. With less than 60 days remaining on the regular season schedule, De Los Santos’ season is over.
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