Trevor Cahill will take survivor techniques to the mound for Pirates

Living the life of a starting pitcher, Trevor Cahill knows what it feels like to fall short of expectations and suffer through the next five days before you can do something about it.

It can be a mental grind. But Cahill, 33, can be labeled a survivor in baseball terms, embarking this spring on his 13th major league season with his ninth team. The Pittsburgh Pirates are his sixth since 2017.

A hallmark of Cahill’s longevity and durability are his 1,470 1/3 career innings, 21st among active pitchers.

The Pirates signed him Thursday to a one-year contract that will pay him $1.5 million. He can earn another $1 million in incentives.

It has been more than a decade since Cahill posted career highs in victories and ERA (18 and 2.97, 2010) as a starter. He was ninth that year in American League Cy Young voting.

Two years before that, he was a member of U.S. national baseball team that earned bronze in the Beijing Olympics with teammates and fellow survivors Stephen Strasburg and Jake Arrieta.

At age 33, Cahill believes he has plenty to offer a team such as the Pirates that always could use another pitcher who knows his way around the strike zone.

How has he survived all these years?

“The biggest thing is have fun,” he said. “Try not to be too hard on yourself. I know it’s tough. We work every five days. You have a lot of time thinking about your game.

“Enjoy the process. I think that was the biggest thing, especially being away last year (through the covid-19 pause). Even going to stretch, stuff you didn’t like doing. Going to work is just a nice feeling.”

With the Pirates, he will have an opportunity to win a spot in the starting rotation.

“The appeal there was that we want to keep adding depth,” general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on AT&T SportsNet. “Particularly guys who can pitch in different roles and provide length. He keeps the ball on the ground. He’s a strike thrower.”

Manager Derek Shelton wasn’t sure when Cahill will appear in a game in spring training.

“We have to let (pitching coach) Oscar (Marin) get eyes on him,” he said.

Right now, starter candidates are Mitch Keller, Steven Brault, JT Brubaker, Chad Kuhl and Tyler Anderson. Cahill is no lock to join that group, but he also could help in long relief.

“There’s a crazy amount of competition (among all pitchers),” Brault said. “That’s what you want. We have a lot of guys pushing each other to be better.”

Cahill (6-foot-4, 223 pounds) has been a starter primarily (352 games, 225 starts). But with the San Francisco Giants last season, he appeared in 11 games, the last five in relief. Overall, he was 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA, recording 31 strikeouts in 25 innings. His 1.200 WHIP was the third best of his career.

With a sinker, changeup, cutter and four-seam fastball, Cahill has been tinkering with a five-pitch arsenal since his rookie season, recently making more frequent use of his curveball.

“I definitely started throwing a lot more last year, especially when I went to the bullpen,” he said. “I don’t think I threw a fastball in the last three outings when I was in the bullpen. “With the numbers, (Giants) were, ‘Keep throwing it. It’s tough to square up.’

“I didn’t throw as many (curveballs) back then (2010) because the sinker was still a good pitch. Now, with all the change in swings, it’s a lot more off-speed, so the sinker doesn’t play as much.

“It’s still a good weapon to have, but I definitely have to mix up a lot more than throwing sinkers all game like I used to.

“It’s just survival. Everybody pitches different than they did 10, 12 years ago. The hitters are seeing so many different looks now and so much velocity.

“The velo’s not all the way up there, but I try to rely on movement. Whatever pitch it is, I try to get as many different looks as possible.”

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