Pirates notes: Reliever Chris Stratton as versatile as he has been effective lately

In his 19 appearances since the start of May, reliever Chris Stratton has a 0.99 ERA. But that level of effectiveness might not even be how he’s shown his greatest value to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Stratton has pitched for the Pirates this season in every inning but the first and the second, and he’s had appearances that vary in length from facing two batters to making the final 11 outs of a game. He’s come on in tie games, with big leads or deficits, and often is called on when the game’s outcome is still in the balance.

“He’s been very efficient, very functional,” manager Derek Shelton said from St. Louis via video conference call with media Friday. “He’s been very good. You need a guy like that in your bullpen that you can kind of Swiss Army knife into a bunch of different roles.”

Since the beginning of last season, Stratton leads all MLB relievers in innings (70 2/3). Since May 1 of this season, he has limited opponents to a .177 batting average.

Interacting again

Two weeks after reaching a vaccination threshold that lifted several MLB-mandated restrictions on everything from mask usage to distancing, the Pirates clubhouse has become more of a welcoming gathering place.

“The biggest thing we’ve seen is just the camaraderie because now the players aren’t separated as much,” Shelton said. “They’re able to be more cohesive and in one room. And the staff, too. The staff before was essentially in four different rooms, three different rooms, so the fact that we were able to come back into one room, it’s going from there.”

Shelton said the team might add some sort of communal game (ping-pong or pool, etc) that is popular in clubhouses and locker rooms across all levels of all sports.

Catcher acquired

Five months after missing out on signing him as an amateur international free agent, the Pirates acquired a 17-year Venezuelan catcher Samuel Escudero in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

The Pirates sent outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. and pitcher Jandel Gustave in exchange. Stokes Jr., 25, went 2 for 18 in eight games (four starts) for the Pirates in May. The 28-year-old Gustave hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019 for the San Francisco Giants and had a 3.60 ERA over 15 appearances this season for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Escudero was assigned to the Dominican Summer League Pirates. He was signed by the Brewers on Jan. 15.

“Our reports on him in spring training this year were really positive,” Shelton said. “As we know, we need to add position player depth. We need to add catching depth. This was a guy we really liked and we were happy to get.”

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