Sinkerballer Ryder Ryan making most of up-and-down nature of role in Pirates bullpen

After eight years in the minor leagues, Ryder Ryan has accepted the up-and-down nature of his role with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And that’s not just about being ready when called upon in the bullpen.

After making the Opening Day roster, the 29-year-old right-handed reliever has twice been optioned to and recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Instead of complaining, Ryan is savoring every chance to pitch in the major leagues.

“It’s awesome to be here,” Ryan said late last month. “Getting sent down, I was like, ‘OK, I want to be called back up again.’ I handled it like a professional. It’s the business. I just want to win. I want to win with this team. I said that all spring training to them. They realized I’m valuable, hopefully.”

Ryan showed some value this week, returning to bolster a bullpen left short-handed by the Pirates’ short-lived experiment with a six-man rotation. Ryan was recalled when lefty Josh Fleming was designated for assignment a day after surrendering six runs, including a grand slam, in Monday’s 8-6 win over the Brewers.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton “wanted to give Ryan a touch,” so he called for him to relieve Luis Ortiz in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 10-2 loss at the Milwaukee Brewers. Ryan completed a 10-pitch scoreless inning against three batters who had homered earlier and another who came incredibly close to joining them.

William Contreras lined out to center for the first out, then Pirates center fielder Michael A. Taylor made a leaping grab at the fence to steal a home run from Willy Adames for the second. Ryan hit Joey Ortiz with a pitch but struck out Gary Sanchez on three pitches to end the frame.

Ryan lowered his ERA to 2.77 and WHIP to 1.00, with 13 strikeouts against five walks over 13 innings in 10 appearances for the Pirates. He’s using an aggressive approach to hold opponents to a .178 batting average.

“That’s my main goal, attacking hitters with my stuff because it’s really good,” Ryan said. “If I get ahead of guys, I have a better chance of a better outcome.”

Until this season, Ryan was better known as the return in a pair of trades. Cleveland, which drafted him in the 30th round out of North Carolina in 2016, dealt Ryan to the New York Mets for Jay Bruce in July 2017. The Mets sent Ryan to the Texas Rangers in December 2020 as the player to be named later in the Todd Frazier trade.

Ryan pitched on the same staff for the Mets’ Double-A affiliate in Binghamton as Pirates reliever Colin Holderman, who calls him one of his favorite teammates because his upbeat — and, sometimes, offbeat — personality “definitely brings a brightness to the clubhouse.”

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Ryan brings another attribute Holderman can appreciate: a sinker that averages 94.2 mph and touched 95 twice against the Brewers. Ryan threw primarily a four-seam fastball and slider until 2020, when he tinkered with the two-seamer during his downtime and found that he had a natural feel for the pitch.

“His sinker is one of a kind,” said Holderman, a fellow sinkerballer. “It’s really good. I haven’t seen a person throw a sinker like that and get so much swing and miss, but I think his has that combination of depth and run. Mine’s mostly just run. I’m more east-west. His has both, with velo. I think it’s really hard to see. That’s why his is so good.”

The sinker is a big reason why Ryan, who made his major-league debut last season by pitching one inning of relief for the Seattle Mariners against the Baltimore Orioles in a 9-2 win Aug. 11, earned a surprise spot on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster.

When Holderman lost 15 pounds to a spring training illness and started the season on the 15-day injured list, the Pirates kept Ryan for that role. And he earned his first major-league victory March 29, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings in a 7-2 win over the Miami Marlins.

“Anytime you see guys that accomplish their firsts, it’s really special, and then you see the way the teammates respond to it,” Shelton said. “Ryder Ryan gets his first win, and you see guys respond to him, knowing this guy grinded in the minor leagues and played one major-league game before this year. It’s really cool.”

Holderman, who spent his share of time in the minor leagues, was thrilled for Ryan because of both his resiliency and fearless approach to pitching that has translated well so far in the majors.

“He doesn’t care who you are in the box. He’s going to attack. That’s what you need in this league, especially if you’re going to throw high-leverage innings,” Holderman said. “He’s gone through the gauntlet in the minor leagues. You learn a lot about yourself. When you come out through all of this and make it to the big leagues, he’s earned the success he’s having. There’s no one I want it for more because he’s such a good dude and good teammate. I love seeing him have success.”