Pirates Sign Former Cardinals Minor League Reliever

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have added more pitching to their organization, signing a pitcher that was in the minor league system of a rival.

The Pirates signed left-handed pitcher Oddanier Mosqueda to a minor league deal on Nov. 14, according to the minor league transactions log, who most recently pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals.

What the Pirates Get in Oddanier Mosqueda

Mosqueda is a minor league veteran, with nine seasons spent outside of his ultimate goal of making an MLB roster.

He stands 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, which puts him on the shorter side for a pitcher, but he does provide experience.

Mosqueda has about five pitches in his arsenal, with his four-seam fastball and sinker his most used, while also throwing three offspeed pitches in a curveball and a slider, plus a changeup.

His fastball hits around 91-92 mph and his sinker about 90-91 mph, which isn't overwhelming velocity, but passable.

Mosqueda is also effective against left-handed batters, posting lower than a .200 opposing batting average vs. lefties the past five seasons.

He does strikeout batters, with a 10+ K/9 rate in all but two seasons, but also walks batters a bit too frequently, with his BB/9 rate higher than 4.00 in four of the past five seasons.

Oddanier Mosqueda's Background

Mosqueda hails from Caracas, Venezuela and signed with the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent in 2015 when he was 16 years old.

He spent seven seasons in the Red Sox minor league system from 2016-23, where he moved up every season until making Triple-A Worcester in 2023.

Mosqueda began in the Dominican Summer League in 2016 then played in the former Gulf Coast League in 2017, where he was a starting pitcher.

He struggled in that starting pitcher role, with an 0-5 record in 10 starts and 11 appearance, a 7.38 ERA over 39.0 innings pitched, a .310 opposing batting average and a 1.79 WHIP.

Mosqueda returned back to a bullpen role, which he has stayed in since 2018, where he pitched with the Lowell Spinners in the defunct New York-Penn League.

He pitched with Greenville in both 2019, when it was Class A, and 2021, when they reclassified it as High-A. There was no minor league season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he didn't pitch that campaign.

Mosqueda had success those three seasons, with a 2.84 ERA with Lowell, a 3.29 ERA with Greenville in 2019 and a 3.61 ERA in 2021.

He then moved up to Double-A Portland in 2022, where he posted a 4.30 ERA over 45 outings and 58.2 innings pitched, then to Worcester in 2023, where his ERA rising to 5.31 over 61.0 innings pitchd over 48 appearances.