Pittsburgh Pirates reportedly place Juan Nicasio on irrevocable waivers

According to a report, the Pittsburgh Pirates have placed Juan Nicasio on irrevocable outright waivers

After losing the first of the club’s remaining seven contests against the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates likely felt — if only internally — that their chances at the postseason were dim at best.

And, according to a report from the Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink, the club is now tipping their hand to fans and observers alike. The team has reportedly placed RHP reliever Juan Nicasio on irrevocable outright waivers. These differ greatly from the traditional August revocable waivers, in which teams can pull players back if a team makes a claim on them, and if the two clubs cannot work out a trade within 48 hours.

Waiving the white flag

Make no mistake, this move — technically not announced by the team just yet — clearly indicates that the Pittsburgh Pirates have turned the page on the 2017 season.

The fact that Nicasio, specifically, has been placed on waivers of some kind is no surprise. We mentioned as much in a recent Wake-Up Call:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If we look at the current Pittsburgh Pirates that might attract interest and make sense for a late-season trade, we find ourselves with one realistic name: Juan Nicasio. A free agent at the end of the year, Nicasio would be a solid addition to any contender’s bullpen.[/perfectpullquote]

Any general manager of a quasi-contending team like the 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates must remain committed to chasing the postseason in the two wild-card team era. At the very least, they must give the outward impression of doing just that. Every team has to sell a modicum of hope, after all.

However, letting Nicasio walk without receiving any assets in return is disconcerting. Was Huntington derelict in his duties by not taking a truly honest accounting of his club’s chances sooner, thus limiting the type of moves they could make?

Maybe. Until we hear from the man himself, it sure looks that way.

Nicasio’s tenure

Nicasio will leave the Pittsburgh Pirates after providing some interesting storyline fodder over his near two-seasons with the team.

All will recall the fantastic Spring Training he put together in 2016 that forced the team’s hand to deploy him as a starting pitcher to start the year. That was absolutely the right call at the time, and so was the move to send him back to the bullpen when he struggled in that role.

Nicasio was easily the team’s best right-handed reliever and second best reliever overall behind Felipe Rivero. Right up until Tony Watson was demoted from a late-inning role, the 30 year-old Nicasio was deployed in a variety of situations and innings, serving as an “Andrew Miller – lite” type of hurler. After Watson’s removal, Nicasio settled into a more traditional role for later innings.

He will now look to join his fourth club in his career, and there is no reason to believe that he will not latch on to a contender.

Image Credit – Daniel Decker Photography