Pirates ink lefty Shreve to Minor League pact

The Pirates signed left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve to a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training, the club announced on Sunday.

Shreve, 30, posted a 3.96 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 25 innings with the Mets in 2020, when his K rate jumped to a career-high 33 percent mark. The left-hander uses a heavy mix of a four-seamer and a splitter with an 80 mph slider mixed in.

Shreve’s splitter was one of the most effective offspeed offerings in the Majors last season. Throwing it nearly as much as his four-seamer, he drew a 55 percent whiff rate on the pitch, by far the highest of his career. It was also the second-highest whiff rate on a single offspeed pitch type for any pitcher in 2020 (minimum 50 swings against), behind only Milwaukee's Devin Williams’ changeup.

However, the left-hander also ranked in the bottom 10th percentile in exit velocity (90.8 mph). So, while Shreve can be difficult to hit against, the Pirates will hope to see him hit less hard by opponents.

Shreve becomes the third left-handed option for the Pirates out of the bullpen, along with Austin Davis and Sam Howard. The Braves' 11th-round Draft pick in 2010 is no stranger to the National League Central, having pitched in 23 games for the Cardinals in 2018-19.

In seven MLB seasons split between the Yankees, Braves, Cardinals and Mets, Shreve recorded a 3.74 ERA with 268 strikeouts in 235 games.