BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates signed reliever Kevin Siegrist to a minor league contract Saturday, adding another left-hander to the mix of pitchers competing for the final bullpen spot.
Siegrist, 28, spent most of his five-year major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals before a brief stint in Philadelphia after the Phillies claimed him off waivers last September.
“I just think it’s a good opportunity to make a team out of camp,” Siegrist said. “I think I bring some experience that I can bring to the bullpen, too. I’ve been in pretty much almost every situation you can ask for, so I’d like to bring that here as well.”
Siegrist threw a bullpen session Saturday.
For the first four years of Siegrist’s career, he was one of the best lefty relievers in the National League. In 45 games his rookie year, he had a 0.45 ERA. He led the major leagues with 81 appearances in 2015, striking out 90 in 74 2/3 innings with a 2.17 ERA.
Last year, Siegrist had a 4.81 ERA in 46 games. A cervical spine sprain, which Siegrist referred to as a disc issue, put him on the disabled list in June. He missed nearly the entire month of August because of left forearm tendinitis. His fastball velocity, which averaged 96 mph as a rookie in 2013, declined to 92 mph last year.
“As long as I can stay healthy, I know what I can do in the league,” he said. “All it comes down to for me is staying healthy.”
Siegrist started throwing earlier in the offseason, the way he did as a starter in the minor leagues. He said that trying to rest more last year caused him problems.
“I went back to how I got ready previously as a starter, just throw more,” he said. “It’s always worked out in the past.”
The projected bullpen contains two lefties, Felipe Rivero and Steven Brault. Before Siegrist, Josh Smoker and Jack Leathersich were the only others in camp. With Rivero closing and Brault more likely ticketed for a long-relief role, a third lefty could allow manager Clint Hurdle to match up for an inning or a batter.
The Pirates prefer not to carry lefties who can only match up with lefty hitters and can’t get righties out, and here Siegrist fits that mold. He historically handles righties better than lefties. Righties had a lower on-base-plus-slugging percentage against Siegrist in each of the past four seasons. Their career OPS against him is .625, compared to .701 for lefties.
Rule 5 pick Jordan Milbrath and out-of-options righty A.J. Schugel are also candidates for the final bullpen spot.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: February 24, 2018, 1:38 p.m.
