Pittsburgh Pirates designate Ernesto Frieri for assignment
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a couple of roster moves today…
#Pirates have DFA Ernest Frieri and activated Pedro Alvarez
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) August 8, 2014
Like no one saw this move coming. Ernesto Frieri has been a complete disaster since he came over from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Jason Grilli. His Pirates line: 14 games, 1-1, 10.13 ERA, 1.781 WHIP, 14 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts in 10.2 innings of work. As poor as Frieri pitched for the Angels, these numbers clearly show he was worse for the Buccos
Meanwhile, in Anaheim, Grilli has adapted to his new team quite well. Just as a comparison: 19 games, 1-1, 2.76 ERA, 1.102 WHIP, 14 hits, 4 walks, 20 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched.
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When the trade was made, the prevailing thought – for both Frieri and Grilli – was that a change of surroundings could have a positive impact. Both Frieri and Grilli had been removed as the closer by their former team, so a new location can potentially create a new mindset.
Well, that has worked for one. Not so much for the other.
Don’t be surprised if another team decides to take a chance on Frieri and swoops down to nab him. That team will feel like they can turn him back into the pitcher he was in 2012. Not sure that it is completely possible to turn his career down the right path, but we see these signings all the time.
It’s not like Frieri has no potential for correcting his course. He’s only 29 which is a positive. On the other hand, his numbers over his past two seasons are the negative (3-8, 5.14 ERA, 1.323 WHIP). Those might outweigh the positive.
A response I saw to Biertempfel’s tweet from above was “Chalk that trade up in the loss column.”
Seriously, did any Pirates fans have designs on “winning” this trade?