Pirates righty Chase De Jong went unclaimed on outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. De Jong has been beforehand outrighted in his profession, so he has the appropriate to reject that task in favor of free company.
De Jong, 29, was excellent in Pittsburgh final season however has been unable to duplicate his success in 2023. The journeyman right-hander delivered 71 2/3 frames of two.64 ERA ball a yr in the past however has to date been rocked for 17 earned runs in simply 11 1/3 innings. De Jong’s 20.1% strikeout fee in 2022 was already under common, however that quantity has plummeted to 11.7% on this yr’s smaller pattern. He’s missed fewer bats whereas persevering with to wrestle with free passes, and opponents in 2023 have already tagged him for six residence runs in simply 60 plate appearances.
That is De Jong’s second DFA of the season in Pittsburgh. He had the appropriate to reject an outright task final time round as properly however opted to simply accept an task to Indianapolis after clearing waivers. He’s pitched 10 1/3 frames in Indy, recording a a lot sharper 1.74 ERA with a 22.9% strikeout that’s greater than double his large league fee but additionally an alarming 16.9% stroll fee. De Jong has a 5.42 ERA in 181 Main League innings and the same 5.51 ERA in 217 1/3 Triple-A frames. That profession ERA in Triple-A is skewed by some earlier struggles; he has a 2.70 mark there in 43 1/3 innings throughout the previous three seasons.
