The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that they have acquired minor league right handed pitcher Brady Dragmire from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash. In a subsequent move, they have also designated right handed reliever Phil Coke for assignment.
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays have completed a deal today that sent minor league right handed pitcher Brady Dragmire to the Pirates in exchange for cash. Dragmire will be a depth piece for the Pirates to use down in there minor league system as a result of many of their young stars making it to the major league level.
Dragmire spent his first full season with Toronto's double A affiliate the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and came out with a record of 4-6 with a 4.38 ERA while striking out 41 and walking 28 in 72 innings of work. He appeared in 45 games for the Fisher Cats all out of the bullpen. Last season marked Dragmire's sixth year in the Blue Jays Organization with no chances of moving up.
Dragmire's ERA was very good back prior to 2014 where he had three straight years of a sub 2.50 ERA from 2012-2014. However, the last two seasons have not been too kind to him as he has had ERAs of 5.26 and 4.38 respectively. His strikeout numbers are not that great either as he has a K/9 ratio of 5.13, league average is up around 7.
One alarming stat on Dragmire's stat sheet is the number of home runs he gave up last season. In 72 innings of work he gave up 10 home runs to opposing batters. The long ball is something that cannot be defended so Dragmire is going to have to work to keep the ball in the yard. These home run numbers could be helped out by a deep left field at People's Natural Gas Field, Home field for the Altoona Curve, that goes out to 365 feet in the notch.
A positive on Dragmire's stat sheet is the fact that he has been able to keep his walk numbers low throughout his career. From 2012-2014, Dragmire was able to keep his walks in the single digits with his best year in 2014 where he walked nine batters in 77.1 innings of work. This is a positive that both Ray Searage and Double A pitching coach Justin Meccage can work with.
In a subsequent move, the Pirates also designated right handed reliever Phil Coke for assignment. The 34 year old was acquired from the New York Yankees back on September 22nd and appeared in three games for the Pirates not giving up a run in four innings of work while striking out three and walking three. Coke spent a total of six games in the majors this season and did not pan out for either the Yankees or the Pirates.
This move was strictly a move for pitching depth in 2017. The Pirates did not have to give up anything for a middle of the road pitcher who they have a chance to develop in their system. Justin Meccage, the Pitching coach at double A Altoona, has worked with top prospects like Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon, and Chad Kuhl. He along with Ray Searage will try to work their magic to turn Dragmire into the next great young Pirates pitching talent.
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