The Pittsburgh Pirates traded right handed starting pitcher Dario Agrazal to the Detroit Tigers for cash on Monday. This was the first trade made by new Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington, who was named to the position on November 18.
Agrazal, a 24 year-old, 6’2″, 240 pound pitcher from Panama, had his rookie Major League Baseball season with the Pirates in 2019. In 15 games (14 starts), he had a record of four wins and five losses. In 73 1/3 innings pitched, Agrazal gave up 82 hits, 40 earned runs and 18 walks. Agrazal also had 41 strikeouts, an earned run average of 4.91 and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.36.
Three Detroit Tigers starting pitchers had more than 14 starts and had an earned run average of less than five in 2019. They were southpaws Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris, along with righthander Spencer Turnbull. However despite the fact that the three pitchers had an earned run average between 4.49 and 4.61, they also had a combined record of only 15 wins and 42 losses. Turnbull himself was only 3 and 17.
It appears Agrazal will be in the mix in the Detroit Tigers starting rotation in 2020. However it is probably most likely that Agrazal would be penciled in as a fourth or fifth starter at the moment.
The Tigers are looking to bounce back from an abysmal season. The use of the term abysmal as an adjective could be considered a complement to those associated with the Tigers. In 162 regular-season games in 2019, Detroit had a record of 47 wins and 114 losses. They were also 53.5 games back of the American League Central Division champion Minnesota Twins.
It appears there is a ton of work to do in this massive Detroit rebuild. The acquisition of Agrazal is just the start.
