CHICAGO -- Five days after designating him for assignment, the Pirates traded Roansy Contreras to the Angels for cash considerations on Thursday. Contreras, who has been used out of the bullpen this season, was DFA'd on Saturday to make room for Paul Skenes on the Pirates' 40-man roster and active 26-man roster.
"It was a tough call because we like Ro and he's a really good pro," Ben Cherington said Saturday. "He's a talented kid that we believe will go on and pitch and be a good big leaguer. He's out of options. We wanted to give it all the time we could with Ro. Obviously he's been a guy that we believed in and were hopeful for. We just felt like right now, the alternative moves we could have made to open up that spot were not going to be best for the team, so that was the decision we made."
Contreras, 24, made 12 relief appearances for Pittsburgh this season, compiling a 4.41 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He allowed eight runs on 19 hits in 16 1/3 innings and totaled 16 strikeouts and eight walks.
A key part of the 2021 trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the Yankees, Contreras is a former top-100 ranked prospect who impressed in his first full taste of the majors in 2022. He made 21 appearances and 18 starts, finishing with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He had 86 strikeouts and 39 walks in 95 innings.
But over the last two seasons, Contreras has seen a dip in his velocity and experienced struggles with his command. Those translated to a 6.17 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP in 31 appearances and 11 starts during that time.
