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Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Pitcher Roansy Contreras to Los Angeles Angels

Roansy Contreras, who the Pittsburgh Pirates designated for assignment over the weekend, is set to join the Los Angeles Angels' pitching staff.
Sam Connon|
Apr 1, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Roansy Contreras (59) attempts to pick off a base runner against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Apr 1, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Roansy Contreras (59) attempts to pick off a base runner against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. | Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports

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Pittsburgh PiratesLos Angeles Angels

The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras to the Los Angeles Angels, MLB.com's Alex Strumpf was first to report Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Andrew Destin later added that the Angels were sending cash considerations back to the Pirates to complete the deal.

The Pirates designated Contreras for assignment last Saturday in order to make room on the active roster for top prospect Paul Skenes. Contreras was 1-0 with a 4.41 ERA, 1.653 WHIP, 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.0 WAR through 12 relief appearances this season.

The righty last took the mound May 10, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning in a 7-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Contreras, still just 24 years old, has shown promise in his MLB career, even if his past few campaigns haven't been particularly impressive.

The Dominican righty was one of four players the New York Yankees traded to Pittsburgh for starting pitcher Jameson Taillon back in 2021. Contreras made one scoreless start for the Pirates later that year, following September call-ups.

The next season, Contreras rejoined Pittsburgh's starting rotation. He went 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA with 1.274, 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.2 WAR.

Contreras struggled in 2023, though, going 3-7 with a 6.59 ERA, 1.566 WHIP, 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.5 WAR. He lost his spot in the starting rotation in early June, then got sent down to the minors in July.

Despite going 0-2 with a 5.65 ERA and 2.023 WHIP in Spring Training, Contreras still earned an Opening Day roster spot in 2024. Contreras gave up two earned runs in his regular season debut, and after seemingly getting his feet back under him with five consecutive scoreless outings, he posted a 5.79 ERA, .385 batting average against and 1.082 OPS against over his next five appearances.

Contreras is now set to join the Angels' big league bullpen, as they just freed up an extra roster spot by optioning Davis Daniel to Triple-A earlier Thursday.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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