Texas Rangers Claim Stolmy Pimental from Pirates

The Texas Rangers are in desperate need of pitching help, with Derek Holland being added to the 60 day disabled list. Yu Darvish is out for the season with Tommy John surgery, and as the Rangers have five other pitchers all on the disabled list, essentially anyone with a live arm may be of interest.

The Rangers acquired such a pitcher yesterday when they Stolmy Pimentel from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pimentel, who has experience as both a starter and a reliever in the minors, is certainly an intriguing option for the Rangers moving forward.

During his major league tenure, Pimentel has worked strictly as a reliever, posting a  4.50 ERA and a 1.381 WHiP in 25 games. However, those numbers are skewed by a solid late season appearance in 2013. Last year, Pimentel struggled in the Pirates bullpen, posting a 5.23 ERA and a 1.531 WHiP. Even then, his live arm was on display, as Pimentel struck out 38 batters in 32.2 innings of work.

More from Texas Rangers News

• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Martin Perez accepting the qualifying offer looking like solid deal for the Rangers
• 4 outfielders the Texas Rangers can still pursue this winter

These numbers essentially mirror what Stolmy Pimentel was during his time in the minor leagues. Over Pimentel’s eight minor league seasons, he posted a 4.10 ERA and a 1.300 WHiP. Pimentel’s strikeout numbers are not as impressive, as he struck out 609 batters in 768.2 innings, but he still struck out just over seven batters per nine innings.

Despite struggling through inflammation in his right shoulder and a sprained ankle, Pimentel had solid stuff. His fastball reaches the mid 90’s, and topped out at just under 99 MPH last season. With a low 90’s sinker and a splitter that comes in in the mid 80’s, Pimentel can be a difficult pitcher to hit when he is on his game.

Strangely, despite having a pitching arsenal that would indicate otherwise, Stolmy Pimentel has been more of a fly ball pitcher during his time in the majors. Perhaps this is due to the injuries he dealt with last season not allowing his pitches to sink enough, but he gave up a fly ball on 50% of the balls put in play against him, against a 27.8% ground ball rate. Pitching in Globe Life Park, that type of fly ball rate may well spell disaster.

Stomly Pimentel has the type of arm and sheer stuff that makes him an intriguing pick up. If he can finally harness his pitches and is healthy, he could be a solid acquisition for the Texas Rangers.

Next: The Silver Lining of Injuries