Pirates New Reliever Hunter Stratton Could Earn Big Bullpen Role
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PITTSBURGH — There's no doubt that the Pittsburgh Pirates need better bullpen options and they went and added someone that they hope can bolster them in that area.
The Pirates brought back right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Stratton on June 18, landing him a trade with the Atlanta Braves, parting ways with catcher Joey Bart, who had been a consistent member of the team for more than two seasons
Stratton has experience with the Pirates, who took him in the 16th round in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Walters State Community College and made 47 relief appearances from 2023-25, before they designated him for assignment and traded him to the Braves last summer.
He now gets another chance with the Pirates, who simply need anyone to come through and provide consistent innings for them.
How Stratton Could Seize This Opportunity
Normally someone like Stratton coming back to the Pirates isn't the biggest deal, but the issues for the bullpen are concerning enough that he might just play a big role this season.
Regressions in right-handed pitchers like Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana have seen them go from high-leverage pitchers to just regular bullpen arms and the Pirates DFA'd Justin Lawrence before trading him to the Minnesota Twins on June 1.
The Pirates have gotten better showings from left-handed relievers in Mason Montgomery, Evan Sisk and Gregory Soto, but nothing that's made them safe from giving up leads or making games closer then they should be.
Pittsburgh has also gone to rookies in Brandan Bidois and potential future starters in Wilber Dotel and Antwone Kelly, looking for any internal options they can find to fix their bullpen issues.
So there is a void in the bullpen, for a right-hander with experience that can shut games down or at the very least, provide a good inning or two when the Pirates call upon them.
Stratton had a strong showing his first two seasons, 2023-24, where he posted a 3.26 ERA over 44 appearances and 49.2 innings pitched.
He'll rely on a four-seam fastball around 95-97 mph, a cutter that sits around 93-95 mph and a slider around 85 mph.
Stratton isn't going to blow his pitches by you, but his ability to get weaker contact on his higher velocity pitches and earning a solid whiff rate on his slider is where he will have success.
The Pirates don't need Stratton to become an ace out of the bullpen, but he'll earn and keep his spot if he can find success early and often for a team pushing for the postseason.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington Has High Hopes For Stratton
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke on Stratton on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 THe Fan back on June 21.
Stratton is with Triple-A Indianapolis right now and made his debut for them on June 21, throwing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and two walks in the 3-1 road win over Iowa (Chicago Cubs).
Cherington sees Stratton as a pitcher that could eventually help the Pirates when the opportunity arises, as they can move him between the major leagues and minor leagues throughout the year.
“High character guy who’s shown a lot of resiliency," Cherington said. "Fought a lot to get to the big leagues in the first place. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s durable, he can pitch, he’s got multiple weapons, we’ve seen him have stretches of real success at the major league level.
“He’s on option right now in Indy. He hadn’t pitched a lot in the month of June, partly because of the DFA. So we’re just gonna get him back on his feet with Indy, get him back in a rhythm, hopefully with pitching and he goes right into that group of optionable relievers, some of whom are on the team now, some of whom are in Indy, that will have a chance to come up and help us win games.
“It’s a combination of increasing our depth, but also giving another guy, if he’s hot and on the right stretch, can come up and help us win games.”
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.