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| Kyle Nicolas |
Los Piratas anunciaron el canje del lanzador de relevo Kyle Nicolas a los Rojos por el jardinero izquierdo/segunda base Tyler Callihan . Ambos jugadores estaban en la lista de 40 jugadores, por lo que no hay un movimiento correspondiente.
Se trata de un intercambio de jugadores talentosos, pero poco probados, entre los rivales de la División Central de la Liga Nacional. Nicolas, de 27 años, es el que tiene más experiencia en Grandes Ligas. Seleccionado en la segunda ronda del draft por los Marlins en 2020, fue canjeado a Pittsburgh como uno de los dos prospectos al año siguiente por el receptor Guante de Oro, Jacob Stallings . Nicolas era lanzador abridor en ese momento, pero siempre se proyectó para un futuro en el bullpen debido a su irregular control.
Nicolas debutó como ascendido en septiembre de 2023. El egresado de Ball State ha comenzado las dos temporadas siguientes con asignación opcional a Triple-A Indianápolis. Nicolas ha registrado números por debajo del promedio en la MLB, pero sigue siendo una pieza de profundidad interesante con gran talento.
En 98 entradas en la MLB, Nicolas tiene una efectividad de 4.68. Ha ponchado al 22% de sus oponentes, un promedio de la liga, y ha otorgado bases por bolas a un alto 12.2%. El año pasado, dividió su tiempo entre las Grandes Ligas y la Triple A. Si bien permitió casi cinco carreras limpias por cada nueve entradas en la MLB, registró una efectividad de 3.79 con una excelente tasa de ponches del 31% contra oponentes de las ligas menores. Nicolas otorgó más del 12% de sus oponentes en la Triple A y ha registrado tasas de bases por bolas de dos dígitos en casi todas sus etapas profesionales.
El control probablemente mantendrá a Nicolas en el relevo intermedio. Tendría la calidad necesaria para lanzar en la parte trasera del bullpen si logra lanzar más strikes. Nicolas se mantiene entre 97 y 98 mph con su recta y tiene un par de lanzamientos rompientes de gran potencia: un slider de 90-91 mph y una curva de 85 mph.
También usa su estatura de 1,90 m para bajar al montículo y generar mucha extensión, aunque sus largas palancas también parecen haberle impedido encontrar consistencia en su lanzamiento. Nicolas dominó mejor la bola en la recta final de la temporada pasada. Solo concedió bases por bolas al 8,4% de sus oponentes, con una efectividad de 3,46 en 26 entradas después del Juego de las Estrellas. Es una pequeña muestra, pero quizás algo que pueda aprovechar mientras busca ganarse un puesto permanente en el bullpen.
Nicolas has a little over one year of service time. He’s at least two years away from arbitration and five years from reaching free agency. He has one minor league option remaining, so the Reds can send him to Triple-A Louisville without exposing him to waivers. Nicolas tossed two scoreless innings this spring before joining Team Italy for the World Baseball Classic. (He’s from Ohio but has a family link to Italy that made him eligible to participate.)
Cincinnati doesn’t have a ton of roster flexibility in the bullpen, where six of their relievers cannot be optioned. Graham Ashcraft has options but is a lock to begin the season in the late innings. Unless the Reds move on from Sam Moll, they’d only have one bullpen spot available between Nicolas, Luis Mey, Connor Phillips and Zach Maxwell. The latter four pitchers all have big arms but come with strike-throwing questions.
The Pirates subtract from their bullpen depth to take a flier on an intriguing hitter who hasn’t found a position. The 25-year-old Callihan was an overslot third-round signee out of high school in 2019. Scouts have praised the lefty hitter’s offensive aptitude while panning his defense. The Jacksonville native has a career .262/.332/.417 batting line over six minor league seasons.
Callihan’s performance in the low minors was a little inconsistent. He has posted better numbers as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. Callihan hit .271/.345/.413 in Double-A two seasons ago and was out to a .303/.410/.528 start over 24 Triple-A contests last year. The Reds called him up at the end of April.
Unfortunately, Callihan didn’t get a chance to establish himself as a rookie. He suffered a gruesome injury just six days into his big league career.
Callihan was playing left field against the Braves on May 5. Matt Olson hit a line drive that sliced away from him down the left field line. Callihan slid to try to catch the ball and was unable to brace himself before hitting the wall with his outstretched glove hand. The collision broke his arm and forced him to undergo season-ending surgery. (Adding insult to injury, Olson trotted around for an inside-the-park home run because Callihan had touched the ball in fair territory.)
That ended his debut campaign after six at-bats, in which he collected his first career hit and run batted in. Callihan entered Spring Training without any restrictions and has gotten into seven exhibition contests, going 2-9 with a home run.
Baseball America ranked Callihan the #20 prospect in the Cincinnati system over the offseason, while Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him 29th in the organization. Callihan has improved his plate discipline and has above-average raw power, but his strikeout rate has climbed in the upper minors.
He’s a below-average defender at second base who probably fits better in left field or at first base. There are some similarities to last winter’s Spencer Horwitz pickup in that regard, though Horwitz had a much longer track record of hitting in Triple-A than Callihan does.
Callihan has less than one year of service and has two minor league options remaining. He’ll battle for a bench job in camp but seems likelier to begin the season in Indy. He can factor in as a bat-first utility type throughout the season if he’s hitting well in the minors.
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