Pittsburgh acquired the 29-year-old Shugart in a small trade with the Red Sox last season. The Texas product had just six games of MLB experience at the time. He reached 35 games in his first and possibly only season as a Pirate. Shugart posted a solid 3.40 average over 45 innings. That came with well-below average strikeout (17.1%) and groundball (33.3%), and the majority of his appearances came in low-leverage situations.
The Bucs kept Shugart on the active roster for most of the first half of the season. He went on the injured list shortly before the All-Star Break with left knee inflammation. That cost him more than a month, and the team optioned him to Triple-A shortly after his return. He made just three MLB appearances in the second half.
Shugart sits in the 94-95 MPH range with his fastball and four-seam sinker. He has a few breaking pitches, an upper 80s sweeper, and a cutter that hits about 90 MPH. It hasn’t drawn much criticism against big league hitters, but he has posted slightly better strikeout numbers than average in the minors. It also has better control than most up-and-down relievers.
There’s a good chance he’ll get some attention on the waiver wire. Shugart has one year left in the big league and one option left in the Minor League. The Pirates will trade him or put him on waivers within the next five days.
#Pirates #designate #Chase #Shugart #assignment