Late last night, news came that the Nats had traded for Scott Hairston for a minor-leaguer. Early this morning, it was reported that it would be a “Class A pitcher” (a CYA, BTW since that could mean Auburn, Hagerstown, or Potomac).
Now, it’s been revealed that Ivan Pineyro is “the guy the Cubs got,” as well as the two teams swapping players to be named later.
The 21-year-old Dominican entered the Nats system in 2011, leading that DSL squad in starts, innings, and strikeouts and second to former Suns teammate Gilberto Mendez in ERA and WHIP. Last summer, he started five games in the GCL and posted a 2.38ERA over 22⅔ innings (no record), before finishing with a less impressive 3-2 mark with a 5.50/3.26/1.660 line in eight starts with Auburn (note the FIP).
That was, however, good enough to earn Pineyro a trip to full-season ball in 2013, in addition to making this site’s 2013 Watchlist for the second straight year as one of the “Notable Arms” (which, along with $2, gets you a cup of coffee).
In Hagerstown, Pineyro went 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 13 starts and represented the Suns in the All-Star game. Following the break, Pineyro was moved up to Potomac, a move that at the time, appeared to be more of an injury replacement for Sammy Solis than a true promotion.
Pineyro made three starts for Potomac, all at home, with mixed results. In his debut, he was left out there a little too long and couldn’t go the requisite five innings against Carolina for the win. His second outing was in a suspended-by-rain start versus Myrtle Beach, in which he gave up a run on three hits over three innings, but was hit hard in the second inning.
His final start, however, was impressive as he threw seven scoreless on the 4th of July in a 3-1 win over Wilmington.
Pineyro was a good but not great pitcher in the limited time I was able to see him. Decent fastball, good change, but quite hittable when he missed his spots and left pitches up. There’s sure to be some overreaction to dealing one of the very few age-appropriate-to-the-level arms in the system, particularly one developed in the post-SmileyAlvarez era of the team’s efforts in the Dominican Republic.
A corresponding move in terms of “backfilling” Pineyro’s spot in the rotation has not yet been announced. Two possibilities (and this is pure speculation) are (A) Solis returning from the GCL (B) Dixon Anderson coming off the DL in Hagerstown.
Solis last pitched on July 5 in the GCL, which is prototypical for a rehabbing pitcher to appear in a game or two before returning north. Anderson was placed on the DL justbefore his scheduled start on July 4th as opposed to after his previous start on June 29, which could also indicate that he may have been one of the players under consideration (and still may be).
If/when such an announcement is made within the next few fours, this space will be updated.