The Pirates made their first deal on deadline day, although it wasn’t one anybody expected.
Instead of Richard Rodriguez or a number of other relief options, they dealt Braeden Ogle to the Phillies on Friday for Abrahan Gutierrez, the catcher the Pirates were supposed to get in Tuesday’s Tyler Anderson trade that fell apart.
Ogle, a 24-year-old left-hander the Pirates drafted in the fourth round back in 2016, had been at Class AAA Indianapolis this season, where he went 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 24 appearances out of the bullpen. Ogle struck out 42 and walked 23 in 31 2/3 innings.
Injuries had affected Ogle earlier in his career, although he was seemingly on the other side of them. There was a knee issue that cut short his 2017 campaign. Then just four starts in 2018 due to left shoulder inflammation.
That forced Ogle to switch from starter to reliever, where he seemingly found some comfort. In 2019, Ogle touched 97 mph and pitched to a 3.56 ERA in 27 games (43 innings), walking 13 and striking out 44 while reaching High-A.
The Pirates clearly like something about Gutierrez, a 21-year-old native of Caracas, Venezuela. Gutierrez is not ranked in the Phillies system but was hitting .288 with an .850 OPS in 50 games this season with Low-A Clearwater. Gutierrez also had 10 doubles, five home runs, 32 RBIs and 37 walks in 219 plate appearances.
This deal almost assuredly plays into the Pirates’ impending Rule 5 crunch, where they’re at risk of losing players off their (crowded) 40-man roster because of baseball’s roster constrains. Both Ogle and Gutierrez are Rule 5 eligible, although it’s less likely that a Low-A catcher would get selected.
Pittsburgh nearly acquired Gutierrez and pitcher Cristian Hernandez for Anderson on Tuesday; however, the Pirates objected to an issue involving the health of Hernandez’s arm, and the deal fell apart.
The acquisition of Gutierrez also continues the Pirates’ recent push of acquiring talented young catcher. It started with Endy Rodriguez, who’s their 25th-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He came over in the Joe Musgrove trade (via the Mets).
Rodriguez is having an outstanding year with Low-A Bradenton, where he ranks third in the league in hits (67), fifth in total bases (110) and eighth in extra-base hits (25). The 21-year-old recently enjoyed a 23-game on-base streak, where he hit .322 and had an .850 OPS.
The headliner among catchers, of course, is No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, who’s getting his feet wet at the Florida Complex League. There’s also Class AA Altoona backstop Carter Bins, who was set to rise as high as No. 12 in Baseball America’s midseason update of the Mariners farm system. Bins was part of the second Anderson deal.
In addition to his offense, Gutierrez has shown himself to be a very good defensive catcher, one Baseball America had rated 27th among Philadelphia’s prospects.
Gutierrez has thrown out 18 runners trying to steal against him this season, which is tied for the fourth-most in the Low-A Southeast League. He also has the second-highest fielding percentage (.994) in the league, making just three errors in 467 total chances over 39 games (343 1/3 innings).
Since turning pro in 2017, Gutierrez has thrown out 70 runners attempting to steal against him in 159 games.
At the plate, Gutierrez came into Friday’s games ranked fifth in the Low-A Southeast in on-base percentage (.420), seventh in batting average and 10th in OPS.
The Braves originally signed Gutierrez as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2016 before he had his contract voided. The Phillies signed him as a minor league free agent on Dec. 21, 2017.
Crick to White Sox
Kyle Crick will have a chance to work his way back to the big leagues after signing a minor league deal with the White Sox. The Pirates designated Crick for assignment on July 19 and released him on July 24.
Crick, whom the Pirates acquired in the Andrew McCutchen trade back in 2018, is 1-1 this season with a 4.44 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. Although Crick had pitched well at times, he was also walking a career-high 7.0 per nine innings.
The right-hander had also dealt with right side and triceps strains over the past few years, and the Pirates wanted to give others opportunities in their bullpen.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: July 30, 2021, 3:21 p.m.
Updated: July 30, 2021, 3:23 p.m.
