On Christmas Eve, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded 1B Josh Bell for the Washington Nationals in exchange for secondary league RHPs Eddy Yean and Wil Crowe.
Time will tell whether or not this was a competent negotiation by the pirate sellers. In terms of time, the deal makes sense. Bell has two years left of service before becoming a free agent. Pirates will not be close to competing during this period. And although there were preliminary talks of a possible contract extension, deep down we all knew it would never happen.
So here we are. The Pittsburgh major league squad went from terrible to even more terrible. That said, the agricultural system is getting stronger. Let’s take a look at what the Pirates got in the business.
Eddy Yean
Now 19, this 6-foot-1 righty was signed by the Nationals of the Dominican Republic during the summer of 2017. At the moment, Yean has a combination of three pitches including a mid-90s fastball, slider and shift.
Per Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel from a Fangraphs article in December last year:
“Yean has things typical of the high school arms later in the first or second round. It has a very projectable structure, its heater arrives in the mid-90s, there are early changes and a feeling of slider, and Yean goes straight to the hitter. It was targeted by sellers on time and has an advantage in the middle of the rotation. “
Yean never launched on high-A. During his time in prison, walking was a problem. In 90 career minor league entries, Yean hit 75 hitters and won 40. Add him to the list of candidates with raw talent that need to be tapped. If he wants to be a starting pitcher in the major league, control needs to improve.
According to Fangraphs, Yean has a future value of 40+. For reference, he is slightly less considered than names like Quinn Preister and Brennan Malone, each with more than 45 future values according to the website. Because Yean is so young, he has plenty of time to increase that future value.
When can we see Yean in Pittsburgh? At this point, it looks like it’s 2022 at the very least.
Wil Crowe
At 26, this 1.80m righty got his first taste of the major leagues last September. In three games and only 8.1 entries launched, Crowe dropped out of 11 races won, including five dingers. He attacked and walked eight hitters each.
Its repertoire includes a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. During his short season in the major league last season, his fastball was around 92 mph.
As far as this trade is concerned, it appears that Yean was the centerpiece of the business, while Crowe helped the Pirates eat entrees in the short term when things didn’t matter. In 54 AAA entries in 2019 (his only AAA experience), Crowe had an ERA of 6.17. Simply put, it has never been this good.
Maybe the pirates see something in it and feel they can help you succeed. That said, I wouldn’t expect much from Crowe.