The Pittsburgh Pirates added a left-handed reliever to their bullpen Sunday when they signed Chasen Shreve to a minor league contract with a spring training invitation.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Shreve will receive $1.5 million guaranteed if he makes the major league roster.
An 11th-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2010, Shreve is 17-8 with a 3.74 ERA in seven major league seasons with the Braves, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. He has been traded twice, including once in a deal for slugger Luke Voit in July 2018, and was designated for assignment by the Cardinals in March 2019 but cleared waivers.
Shreve was 1-0 with a 3.76 ERA in 25 innings over 17 appearances last season with the Mets, recording 34 strikeouts and 12 walks. He relies primarily on a four-seam fastball and a splitter, and his 33% whiff rate was baseball’s best by a left-hander with at least 25 innings pitched. He also ranked among the hardest-hit pitchers, with an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph.
Shreve joins Austin Davis and Sam Howard to give the Pirates a potential third left-handed option out of their bullpen.
