Pirates prefer a mix-and-match mindset with new relief roles in back end of bullpen

Derek Shelton knew he would have to mix and match to reconstruct a Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen decimated by ineffectiveness, injuries and trades, especially over the final two months of the season.

The Pirates have turned a starter into a reliever, transformed a veteran from a multi-innings eater into a high-leverage role and gave a rookie his first audition at becoming their next closer.

All three were on display in the final three innings of Saturday’s 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, when Chad Kuhl got out of a jam in his bullpen debut in the seventh, Chris Stratton completed a 1-2-3 eighth and Mars alum David Bednar earned his first career major league save.

“Honestly, I think throughout the whole year we really embraced the fact of being a dog and just being ready however the game takes us and any situation,” Bednar said. “I think we’ve all done a good job of that, embracing that role and really being dogs out there and taking that ball. Everybody wants the ball in every situation, so it’s a good group of guys that just loves to fill it up and go out there and compete, a bunch of guys that have nasty stuff, as well.”

The Pirates have had no choice but to be flexible, considering the constant changing parts in the ‘pen. They parted ways with Kyle Crick and Michael Feliz, have been without lefty Sam Howard (right oblique strain) since mid-July and traded Austin Davis, Clay Holmes and closer Richard Rodriguez by the July 30 deadline.

Dealing Rodriguez, who had 14 saves, left a gaping hole in the closer role. The Pirates have chosen to fill it by committee even though it mattered little, as there haven’t been many save opportunities. Shelton was reluctant to name a closer in spring training until Rodriguez forced his hand, and isn’t quite ready to anoint Bednar the next one.

“I think the ‘closer’ title gets overused a little bit,” Shelton said. “When you look at teams that have one guy who’s done it for a long time and is really good at it, yeah, it comes into play. Then I think you also look at a lot of organizations that value the leverage of the situation and kind of mix and match. That’s kind of what we’ve done with David since we traded Richie. I think that is as valuable as anything because sometimes the highest leverage situation in a game is not the ninth inning. It’s coming in and getting guys out, and David’s done a really nice job in those situations.”

In the past week, the Pirates have been involved in four one-run games in which they have had to rely on the bullpen. Four relievers combined to pitch 4 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-1 loss to Milwaukee. Anthony Banda and Chasen Shreve blew a one-run lead in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cody Ponce took the loss after giving up two runs in a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers. The 5-4 win over the Cardinals saw Nick Mears blow the lead by giving up two runs in two-thirds of an inning and Kuhl allow one run before getting out of a jam in the seventh, then Stratton and Bednar shut the door for the win.

“The bullpen has been really good back there, especially in the back end,” Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “For awhile, we had a lot of moving pieces, so it was kind of a challenge to see where guys were going to throw, what innings they were going to throw, how many innings — stuff like that. But I think over the past week or week and a half, we’re getting a good feel for like a rotation in the later innings.”

The conversions of Stratton and Kuhl to high-leverage relievers could be key for the Pirates, as their bullpen lacks a veteran presence. Stratton serves as an example for Kuhl, who returned from the covid-injured list, as a former starter who thrived as long reliever and is now transitioning into a late-inning role with his pitch repertoire and mentality. Stratton faced the top of the Cardinals’ order in pitching the ninth inning of Friday’s 4-0 win, then switched with Bednar on Saturday so they would see different batters on back-to-back nights.

“The ability to have guys that can pitch in those ways and go mutli-innings and pitch in higher-leverage roles is going to be really important for us moving forward,” Shelton said. “Our bullpen has gotten very young, very inexperienced and having some stability and that mentality at the end of the game – whether it’s the seventh, eighth or the ninth – is important.”

Kuhl proved he could handle a challenging situation in the seventh, when he faced the top of the order and gave up three consecutive singles to load the bases. After getting Tyler O’Neill to hit into a sacrifice fly, Kuhl struck out Yadier Molina and Lars Nootbaar to end the inning.

That impressed Pirates starter Dillon Peters, a left-hander who pitched out of the starting rotation and in the bullpen with Miami and the Los Angeles Angels before being acquired in a trade last month.

“I think that job is extremely hard,” Peters said. “Being ready for nine innings as a bullpen pitcher is not a great job. It’s very tough. I think I learned when I was coming out of the ‘pen that you have to roll with the punches. You have to get ahead and trust your stuff. As a starter you kind of have the luxury to work pitches in or set ‘em up as the game goes on. As a reliever, it’s tough. (Kuhl) only gave up one run. It was pretty incredible what he accomplished.”

For now, the pitchers in the Pirates’ bullpen are staying ready for any relief situation, whether it’s throwing multiple innings, facing one batter or getting a high-leverage opportunity.

“You kind of see where the lineup is and how the game is going and how we’ve been used in the past. We all pretty much have an educated guess of at least somewhat of an idea of when we’re going to go in,” Bednar said. “As far as a specific spot, I’m pretty much locked in from the fifth on, just ready to roll so I’m not caught off-guard. I think that’s the mindset of the whole group, too. Everybody is always locked in and ready to compete.”