The Stolmy Pimentel Story is a pretty straightforward in 2015. He had a rough go of 2014 and spent time bouncing between the bullpen and the disabled list, because he was out of options. The Pirates wanted to hang on to him at all costs, though, because in the 32 2/3 innings that he did pitch with the Pirates, he struck out 38 hitters and threw his fastball 93.3 mph on average. The problem was that he walked a bunch of people (16), gave up a bunch of homers (5), and only got groundballs at a 27.8% clip.
Pimentel’s stuff is obvious, his minor league track record suggests that he can get more ground balls and it’s unwise to ever doubt Ray Searage and Jim Benedict. Still, he’s out of options and the bullpen is going to be crowded this spring. If you give spots to Mark Melancon, Tony Watson, Antonio Bastardo, and Radhames Liz, that leaves three spots for the Jeff Locke/Vance Worley rotation battle loser, Jared Hughes, John Holdzkom, Arquimedes Caminero, and Pimentel. Given that Brandon Cumpton could be seriously hurt and Locke and Worley are out of options, they both likely end up on the roster no matter who’s in the rotation. Caminero is out of options and could be claimed if he keeps lighting things up this spring, it looks like there’s a decent chance he gets a spot. That leaves one spot for Hughes, Holdzkom, and Pimentel. On big league track record, it’d probably go to Hughes. On potential, it’d be Holdzkom. On remaining options, it’d go to Pimentel.
The Pirates often choose to keep a player in these situations and that drives everyone nuts. Indeed, picking Pimentel over Holdzkom and Hughes, keeping Jeff Locke in the bullpen, and having the uncertanties of Liz and Caminero feels intentionally painting yourself into a corner. That’s especially true given that Clint Hurdle doesn’t like guys pitching in more than back-to-back games (I don’t have a problem with this: it’s just an existing consideration). And yet, you really don’t have to look any further than to Milwaukee to see the dangers that come from limiting your bullpen depth. The Brewers suffered a ton of injuries to relievers last year, and eventually found themselves turning to Jonathan Broxton with their season on the line.
I suppose that makes this the final line on Pimentel: I don’t have much confidence in him as a shut-down reliever, but the Pirates have found shut-down relievers in many less likely places than from a talented guy in their own bullpen. Still, a Liz/Caminero/Pimentel bullpen without Hughes and Holdzkom in it feels like trying to both have and eat your cake. On the other hand, the Pirates gave up on Bryan Morris last summer despite a few springs in which his stuff looked electric, then almost immediately regretted it after the Ernesto Frieri disaster. My best guess is that the Pirates will choose quantity by keeping Pimentel, that it’ll drive us all nuts for a while, and that it’ll ultimately work itself out.
<500 is an ongoing series previewing 2015 for each key Pirate in fewer than 500 words.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
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