There’s a new arm in town.

Well, he’ll be here eventually.

The Pirates announced earlier today that they have claimed pitcher Joey Wentz off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. Since he has no options, the Pirates will be forced to make a corresponding move to their 28-man roster, but we’ll all have to be in suspense for a few days as to what that move is.

The team has said they will wait to make any other roster moves until Wentz joins the team later this week. However, with 14 pitchers already on Pittsburghs’s active roster, it will have to be an arm that goes to make room for Wentz, whether that be injury or DFA related.

Wentz was designated for assignment by the Tigers back on August 30th, in a move to reinstate Casey Mize from the 60-Day Injured List.

In 55.1 innings for Detroit (38 games), the lefty posted a 5.37 ERA, 1.572 WHIP, 2.22 K/BB ratio, and an opposing batting average of .273.

He’s had some real ups and downs with Detroit this season. He pitched 9.1 scoreless frames for the Tigers in August, but had a really bad outing on the 22nd, when he gave up 4 earned runs in an inning.

That has kind of been the story of Wentz all season long. Some really bad games overshadowed other really solid performances for the 26-year old.

His Tigers tenure ended with 20 straight strikes thrown, including 17 straight strikes in his final appearance with the team. He tossed a pair of scoreless frames and struck out 3 back on August 29th.

A former first round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2016, Wentz arrived in Detroit near the trade deadline in 2019. He made his debut three years later, and was used as both a starter and a reliever during his major league career with the Tigers.

Last season, he was primarily used as a starter, with 19 of his 25 games being starts. He posted a 3-13 record and 6.90 ERA.

This season, the Tigers shifted him to the bullpen, where nearly half of his games came in the final inning(s).

The claiming of Wentz gives the Pirates a fourth lefty in their bullpen, alongside Jalen Beeks, Ryan Borucki, and Aroldis Chapman.

The Pirates have made a bit of a pattern in taking on guys who could be looked at as reclamation projects. Some of those have come via free agency, but the best example comes in a fellow waiver claim by the name of Dennis Santana.

Santana, save for a few small missteps along the way, has revived his major league career and has really rose to prominence in the Pirate bullpen.

Wentz’s numbers are largely uninspiring to say the least, but his basic stats really aren’t any worse than Santana’s at the time he arrived. So, it’s possible that Wentz could start to rebound with the Pirates in the same way he did.

However, it’s also just as possible is as his career stats suggest he is: a lefty with an ERA dangerously near 6.00, and lopsided record, and a WAR underground at -1.6.

We shall see which vision comes to fruition.

(Featured photo by Paul Sancya/AP)