Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Spending time in bullpen
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Contreras is expected to move into a bullpen role for the near future, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Contreras still has time to deliver on his prospect pedigree, as he's just 23 years old, but his season so far has been a disappointment. He owns a 4.50 ERA through nine starts, with a 5.44 xFIP and 5.48 SIERA indicating that things could be considerably worse. His 16.4 percent strikeout rate, 10.8 percent walk rate and 35.5 percent groundball rate are all significantly worse than average. There's been no indication that the Pirates intend to permanently move him to the bullpen, but spending at least a few weeks there could help him reset while also help keep his innings in check. He threw 129.1 frames last season, so 150 innings is probably a fair target for this year.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Allows three runs in no-decision
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Contreras did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks over five innings in an 8-3 loss against the Diamondbacks. He struck out three.
Contreras has gone four straight starts without a win, and he's 3-4 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 35:23 K:BB through nine starts (50 innings) on the campaign. The 23-year-old Contreras has looked good at times this season, tallying four quality starts, though he's been too inconsistent to trust for fantasy purposes. He's lined up to face the Mariners on the road in his next outing.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Takes loss despite solid outing
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Contreras (3-4) took the loss against Baltimore on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out one batter.
Contreras didn't allow more than one hit in any inning Saturday, but he was dinged for a pair of solo homers to account for the two runs against him. Meanwhile, a trio of Baltimore pitchers held Pittsburgh to three hits and no runs, resulting in Contreras being saddled with a tough-luck loss. The right-hander nonetheless finished with his fourth quality start of the campaign despite notching a season-low one punchout. Contreras has allowed two or fewer runs in five of his eight starts, but a few rough outings have put his season ERA at a less-than-inspiring 4.40.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Falls to Toronto
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Contreras (3-3) took the loss Sunday, allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks over five innings against the Blue Jays. He struck out four.
Contreras has dropped his last two starts, allowing nine runs on 15 hits over 10.1innings in that span. The 23-year-old right-hander now sports a 4.74 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP and 31:19 K:BB. Contreras has shown some promise at times early in his career, but he's been too inconsistent to trust for fantasy purposes. He's tentatively lined up to face the Orioles in his next outing.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Falls to Tampa Bay
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Contreras (3-2) took the loss Tuesday, allowing four runs on six hits and four walks over 5.1 innings against Tampa Bay. He struck out three.
Contreras held the Rays off the board for the first three innings, allowing just one hit. However, he started to unravel in the fourth, allowing a run following a Randy Arozarena leadoff double before surrendering three more in the fifth and sixth innings. The loss snaps a run of three consecutive quality starts for Contreras. The 23-year-old right-hander now has a 4.09 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 27:16 K:BB through his first six starts this season.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Shuts down Dodgers
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Contreras (3-1) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five across six innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Dodgers.
Contreras was excellent throughout the appearance, as he allowed only two runners to reach scoring position across the six innings of work. He relied primarily on flyball outs, but he did get 26 combined called and swinging strikes across 87 total pitches. Setting aside a disastrous outing against Houston on April 10, Contreras has worked at least 5.2 innings while surrendering two or fewer earned runs in his other four starts. All told, he has a 3.58 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 24:12 K:BB across 27.2 frames.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Sharp in Thursday's win
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Contreras (2-1) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over 6.2 innings in a 4-3 victory over the Reds. He struck out eight.
Contreras held the Reds off the board until the seventh inning, ultimately allowing just one run while racking up a season-high eight strikeouts. The 23-year-old Contreras has been great to start the year, apart from a seven-run loss against the Astros on April 10 -- he's allowed two runs or fewer in his other three starts. Overall, the young right-hander has a 4.57 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 19:10 K:BB through 21.2 innings this season.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Allows two runs over six frames
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Contreras didn't factor into the decision Saturday against the Cardinals after allowing two runs on six hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out six.
There was plenty of traffic and self-inflicted damage for Contreras in the no-decision, but the right-hander was able to keep the Cardinals at bay after giving up two runs in the first inning. He's pitched effectively in two of his three outings thus far in 2023 with the one exception being a seven-run struggle against the Astros in his previous start. It's true for many pitchers in the early stages, but Contreras has pitched better than his 6.00 ERA over 15 innings suggests.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Knocked around in loss
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Contreras (1-1) took the loss Monday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and four walks over 3.1 innings against the Astros. He struck out three.
Contreras was unable to get into any sort of rhythm with the Astros' offense jumping all over him from the beginning. He surrendered one run in the first inning, three in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth before departing a 7-1 game. Monday's outing was a much different story for Contreras, who held Boston to one run on three hits, a walk and a pair of strikeouts over 5.2 frames in his first start of 2023.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Solid in first win
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Contreras (1-0) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits and a walk over 5.2 innings in a 4-1 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out two.
The 23-year-old right-hander wasn't dominant, managing only five swinging strikes among his 78 pitches, but he got the job done in Fenway Park. Contreras posted solid numbers last year in his first extended look at big-league hitters, and the Pirates are counting on him to emerge as a rotation stalwart this season. He sets up for a high-risk, high-reward two-step next week, beginning with a home start against the Astros before a weekend series in St. Louis.
Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Set for steady rotation role
Rotowire
Contreras will be in the rotation for the entire 2023 season, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Contreras spent the majority of the 2022 season in Pittsburgh, but he was used inconsistently. Despite pitching out of the rotation for much of the campaign, he was limited to fewer than five innings in 10 of his 21 appearances. Even so, between Triple-A Indianapolis and his work in the majors, Contreras complied 129.1 frames, so he could reasonably throw as many as 150 innings in 2023 so long as he maintains his health.
Contreras was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
After allowing multiple runs in each of his last three starts, Contreras will finish the 2022 season in the minors. He put up a 3.79 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in the majors this season and will likely be back on the major-league roster to start 2023. JT Brubaker (arm) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move.
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Pirates' Roansy Contreras: Another short outing
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Contreras did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks over three innings against the Cardinals. He did not record a strikeout.
For the fourth consecutive start, the rookie failed to reach five innings, coming as a bit of a surprise after he reached that mark in each of his previous six starts. It is possible the Pirates are simply limiting the 22-year-old's innings as he has now thrown 129.1 innings across all levels this season and averaged just 61.5 pitches over his last four starts, including his 50 Sunday, after averaging 91.0 in his previous six. Contreras is 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA this season.
