The Pirates have claimed left-hander Joey Wentz off waivers from the Tigers, according to announcements from both clubs. The Tigers had designated him for assignment in recent days. The Pirates had an open 40-man spot but will need to open an active roster spot once Wentz reports to the team since he is out of options.
Wentz, now 26, was once a notable prospect. He was selected 40th overall by Atlanta in the 2016 draft and posted some good numbers in the minors before being flipped to the Tigers in the July 2019 trade that sent Shane Greene the other way. Unfortunately, Wentz required Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, putting him on the shelf for that year and part of 2021. The Tigers nonetheless believed in his future, adding him to their 40-man roster in November of 2020 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Since coming back from his surgery absence, he has generally posted solid numbers in the minors but not in the majors. Over the 2021-23 seasons, he tossed 154 innings on the farm, allowing 3.97 earned runs per nine innings. His 11.4% walk rate in that time was a bit high but he struck out 26.7% of batters faced. But he had a 5.99 ERA in 138 1/3 major league innings during that same time frame, striking out just 19.9% of batters faced in the big leagues.
He exhausted his option years in that stretch and has been out of options here in 2024. The Tigers kept him in their bullpen for the first few months of the season with some mixed results. He was able to provide them with a multi-inning relief arm, soaking up 55 1/3 frames over 38 outings, but with a 5.37 ERA. His 23.6% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate are close to average but his .333 batting average on balls in play and 69.8% strand rate have both been a bit on the unlucky side. His 4.52 FIP and 3.97 SIERA both suggest he deserved better results than he got this year.
Perhaps that is what the Pirates will be banking on, in addition to Wentz’s previous prospect pedigree. They will have to keep him on their active roster due to his out-of-options status but that should be doable with just a few weeks left in the season and the club now out of contention. If they manage to keep Wentz on their roster, he can be retained well into the future. He will finish this season with under two years of service time, meaning he can be retained for five seasons after this one.