The Pirates have added veteran right-hander Juan Minaya on a minor league deal, per John Dreker of Pirates Prospects.
Minaya, 32, appeared in six games for the Twins last season, tossing 9 2/3 innings of 5.59 ERA ball. Just a year prior he had been an effective member of the Twins’ bullpen, working to a 2.48 ERA over 40 innings. That 2021 season did include a sky-high 85.3% strand rate, so sustaining a mid-two ERA was never likely and it’s particularly telling that the Twins non-tendered him at the end of the season, and it wasn’t until March that he re-signed with them on a minor league deal for the 2022 season. That was just a small sample of work in Minnesota last year, and his peripherals didn’t deviate much between 2021-22 as he maintained an above-average strikeout rate and a below-average walk rate, although his fastball did see a slight drop in velocity last season.
With that being said, Minaya has a solid track record of relief work over his six seasons in the big leagues. Originally signed by the Astros out of the Dominican Republic back in 2008, Minaya made his debut for the White Sox as a 25-year-old in 2016. He’d turn in four years of service for Chicago, providing them with 128 1/3 innings of 3.93 ERA ball in that time.
While Minaya had a challenging 2022 season, there’s enough there that the veteran hurler could work his way into the Bucs’ bullpen plans with a strong spring training.
More must-reads: