Jordan Lyles Officially Signs, Will Join Fifth Starter Dance Card

The Bucs signed RHP Jordan Lyles in Vegas, with the deal becoming official yesterday after he passed his physical (he missed some time last year with elbow inflammation). Lyles, 28, had worked for Houston, Colorado, San Diego and briefly Milwaukee during his eight-year career. The Brew Crew passed on his $3.5M option; the Pirates swooped in and inked him to a one-year/$2.05M deal.

Originally a starter, he made the transition to the pen w/a spot-start role in 2016. Lyles is a ground ball guy without a discernible split, something the Bucs look for in a reliever, and that’s likely why they took a flyer on him rather than the expected southpaw. They now have a long lefty-righty combo with him and Steven Brault, along with Nick Kingham whose future is yet TBD.

The bad news is that he’s never posted a full season ERA under four, and in fact has topped five runs per game in six of his eight campaigns. The good news is that last year, he went 3-4/4.11, his best personal showing in ERA and second best in FIP (4.08). He was quite solid from the pen, going 1-0/3.32 with 44 K in 41 IP while relying on a fastball/curve combo last season.

Neil Huntington said he will be considered for the 2019 rotation and mentioned in passing that the Pirates would be open to some bullpenning next year; he’s be a likely suspect to start if that indeed is the case.

That begs the question of how the Pirates intend to address the fifth starter question and overall, the thin depth of the starting pitching. The club has only been peripherally involved in checking out adding to the staff, with no more than due diligence being noted so far. That’s understandable; they moved Ivan Nova to clear out an eventual slot for Mitch Keller, who if all goes to plan will join the big team in the summer. They also have Chad Kuhl coming back in 2020.

Jamo, Chris Archer, Willy & Big Joe (who had surgery, so knock on wood for him to be ready) are etched in stone for 2019′s staff. That leaves Lyles (who has the “inside track” per Neal), Nick Kingham, and Steven Brault as the likely fifth-man suspects, with JT Brubaker and less probably, Clay Holmes/Tyler Eppler, as the depth behind Keller at Indy. NH said that he hopes one of the bullpen trio will claim the job. But that’s also why he mentioned bullpenning as an option (although one he doesn’t seem very enthused over); he does have a glut of once-around-the-order guys on hand.

The focus this week seems to be on shortstop, and that is a red flag right now. But watch how the pitching falls into place in the spring. Nova was a league-average arm, and there’s value in having that sort of twirler holding down the back end of the rotation. We’ll see if that’s a replaceable asset.