Five days after designating him for assignment, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.
The Pirates received cash considerations from the Angels for Contreras.
Contreras was a key return piece in the 2021 trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the New York Yankees.
Contreras, 24, made his MLB debut with the Piratea in 2021 and flashed solid potential the following season, when he went 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA over 21 games, including 18 as a starter.
But the 2023 campaign proved to be disastrous for Contreras, who was not only moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen but sent to the minors to refine his mechanics.
He was 3-7 with a 6.59 ERA, 55 strikeouts and 32 walks in 681⁄3 innings last season. He appeared in 19 games for the Pirates, starting 11.
This season, Contreras was 1-0 with a 4.41 ERA over 12 outings and 161⁄3 innings.
“It was a tough call because we like (Contreras), and he’s a really good pro,” general manager Ben Cherington said after designating the Peralvillo, Dominican Republic, native for assignment. “He’s a talented kid that we believe will go on and pitch and be a good big leaguer. He’s out of (minor-league) options. We wanted to give it all the time we could with (Contreras).
“Obviously, he’s been a guy that we believed in and were hopeful for. We just felt like right now, the alternative moves we could have made to open up that spot were not going to be best for the team, so that was the decision we made.”
Contreras was originally a free agent signing by the Yankees in 2016.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.