Pirates claim RHP Ashton Goudeau off waivers, DFA 1B Will Craig to make room on roster

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed right-handed pitcher Ashton Goudeau off waivers Wednesday from the Colorado Rockies, adding bullpen depth to their pitching staff.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated first baseman Will Craig for assignment.

Goudeau, who MLB Pipeline ranked No. 23 among the Rockies’ top prospects, made his major-league debut Aug. 19 against Houston. In four appearances for the Rockies this past season, Goudeau allowed seven earned runs on 15 hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings.

Originally drafted in the 27th round in 2012 by the Kansas City Royals, Goudeau was one of four players traded to Seattle in exchange for $1. He spent the 2019 season with Double-A Hartford, going 3-3 with a 2.07 ERA in 78 1/3 innings, with 91 strikeouts and .215 batting average against in 16 starts. Goudeau also had 18 strikeouts in 13 scoreless innings in the Arizona Fall League. He signed a free-agent deal with the Rockies but was designated for assignment last Friday.

Craig was the Pirates’ first-round pick (No. 22) in 2016 as a third baseman out of Wake Forest, but was converted to first base and showed promise with gold glove-caliber defense and some power. He batted .248 with 20 home runs and 102 RBIs at Double-A Altoona in 2018, and hit .249 with 23 homers and 78 RBIs the following year.

Craig, however, was stuck behind All-Star first baseman Josh Bell. After struggling in spring training, Craig wasn’t included in the 30-man roster for summer camp at PNC Park and and spent most of this past season at the alternate training site in Altoona. When Colin Moran suffered a concussion in a collision at first base, the Pirates called up Craig. He made his major-league debut on Aug. 27 at the St. Louis Cardinals, going 0 for 3.

Craig slipped from being ranked the Pirates’ No. 8 prospect in 2016 to No. 22 this year and Pirates general manager Ben Cherington didn’t give Craig a ringing endorsement after the season, despite keeping him on the 40-man roster and cutting ties with Jose Osuna at the deadline last Friday.

“The way I’ve always thought about it is when you get to that point, you lose the prospect label,” Cherington said earlier this month. “The prospect tag goes away as guys get to Doulbe-A, Triple-A, get on the (major league) roster. Those tags don’t matter and you’re a baseball player, and you’re amongst other talented baseball players competing to get better, and Will’s one of those guys.”

The Pirates tinkered with playing Craig in right field, and he lost 25 pounds in the offseason so he could become more mobile. Despite playing gold glove-caliber defense in the minors, he never showed any consistency at the plate.

“He’s worked really hard over the last year or so to get his body in a better spot, just to be able to move better and just handle the defensive responsibilities both at first and in other spots,” Cherington said. “We’re challenging him this offseason to continue to do that so he can be a defensive option in more than one spot. We know he has power. He likes the game. He’s a hard worker. He’ll have opportunity to get better and earn opportunity. I think he knows that’s the point of his career he’s at, but that’s not just him. That’s anybody that gets to that level would be in that category.”