Perrotto: Brent Honeywell Jr. Goes From Pirates’ DFA to World Series

Brent Honeywell Jr. made two relief appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year.

They were mainly lost in the shuffle. After all, Honeywell was one of 32 pitchers used by the Pirates during a nondescript season in which they finished with a 76-86 record.

However, Honeywell’s situation is nothing bland now. He is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen, and his team can sweep the New York Yankees in the World Series by winning Game 4 tonight at Yankee Stadium.

Honeywell has yet to pitch in the Series, though that is likely to change in Game 4 as the Dodgers plan to have a bullpen game for the fourth time this postseason to cover for their injury-depleted rotation.

Honeywell allowed one run in 3.1 innings with the Pirates. He was designated for assignment just before the All-Star break and the Dodgers claimed him off the waiver wire.

The 29-year-old pitched well enough that the Dodgers decided to keep him on the roster for all three postseason rounds. He has given four runs in 7.2 innings in two playoff appearances after going 1-1 with one save and a 2.62 ERA for the Dodgers in 18 games during the regular season.

The Pirates were just one stop on a long journey by Honeywell since he was a top prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization and started in the 2016 All-Star Futures Game in San Diego.

Honeywell had multiple arm surgeries and did not reach the major leagues until 2021 with the Rays. He was injured again before resurfacing in the major leagues last year with the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox.

The Pirates signed him to a minor-league contract last offseason and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the season. He pitched in 31 games for Indy and had seven saves with a 4.85 ERA.

Honeywell’s father pitched in the Pirates’ farm system from 1988-90.

Little did Honeywell know that being DFA’d by the Pirates would eventually lead him to the World Series. He has made it to the Fall Classic to cap his 11^th professional season.

“It definitely means a lot to me. It means a lot to my friends and family and people back at home, and especially to people who have helped me get to where I’m at throughout baseball,” Honeywell, a native of Augusta, Ga., told reporters before the Dodgers beat the Yankees 4-2 on Monday night in Game 3.

“There’s no better baseball, and I always knew — my dad always told me, my family, my friends, everybody I played with, have always told me just try and be a part of one of the best. This is what this is about. This is two of the best teams in the game. I want my team and all my players and all my teammates I play with now to be the best in the league. That’s what we’re here to do.”

Something the Pirates haven’t done since 1979, even long before Brent Honeywell Sr. was in the organization.