The Pirates have traded Roansy Contreras to the Los Angeles Angels, officially ending the 24-year-old right-hander’s time in Pittsburgh, a Pittsburgh Baseball Now source has confirmed.
Pittsburgh’s return in the trade has yet to be announced.
The Pirates designated Contreras for assignment on Saturday, May 11, making room for 2023 first overall pick Paul Skenes on their 40-man roster. Contreras, a one-time top 100 prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline, looked like he could become a cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s rotation for years to come during the first half of the 2022 season, when he posted a 3.79 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 95 innings.
Contreras’ numbers started to tail off following that year’s All-Star Break, though, and he never recaptured that same form, falling out of the starting rotation in 2023 before getting optioned to the Florida Complex League, where the Pirates hoped to revitalize his young career using the bevy of mechanical and biometric data equipment at Pirate City. He made 12 relief appearances for Pittsburgh in 2024, pitching to a modest 4.41 ERA across 16.1 innings despite an ugly 1.65 WHIP.
Having exhausted his options to the minor leagues, the Pirates were instead forced to designate him for assignment in order to create space for Skenes on the big league roster.
It’s a disappointing end to the young pitcher’s Pirates’ career, even if the underlying numbers suggested he was due for regression amidst the height of his breakout season. Pittsburgh’s eventual return for Contreras from the Angels could soften the blow… or turn into another punchline.
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