Perrotto: New Pirates Reliever Strzelecki Wants to ComPETE

That Peter Strzelecki has fashioned a major-league career is impressive. After all, he has overcome long odds to reach the big leagues.

The right-handed reliever went undrafted in 2018 after playing at the University of South Florida. Strzelecki signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as an amateur free agent. Players in that category are generally considered as little more than roster fillers in the lower minor leagues with little chance of reaching the big leagues.

Yet Strzelecki has made 77 relief appearances in the majors over the last three seasons. He has a good chance of making the Pittsburgh Pirates’ opening-day bullpen after being acquired from the Cleveland Guardians on Nov. 22 in a waiver trade.

So how has Strzelecki overcome the odds?

“One thing is being surrounded with really good people,” he said. “I’m fortunate with my family, my friends, the coaches I’ve been with. That’s really one thing.

“You always have a chip on your shoulder. I think it’s made me who I am today. It’s definitely helped me through the minor leagues and the big leagues as well. I think it does have that advantage for sure.”

While attending PirateFest last month, Strzelecki wore a hat emblazoned with “ComPETE.”

“You gotta go out there and compete every day,” Strzelecki said. “I look at it as an opportunity. I’m grateful every day I show up to any clubhouse, but obviously a big-league clubhouse. I just don’t take things for granted and I just try and work as hard as I can every day.”

Strzelecki has done more than be a competitor at the major-league level. He has excelled at times during his stints with the Brewers (2022-23), Arizona Diamondbacks (2023) and Guardians (2024), compiling a 3.44 ERA in 83.2 innings.

Strzelecki hopes to carry that success over to the Pirates in 2025.

“I mean all the teams that I’ve been with have had pretty good bullpens,” Strzelecki said. “I’ve been fortunate to play with some of the best relievers in baseball. So, I just want to take what I’ve learned from those guys and take my experience as well and just take the opportunity and run with it and prove what I can do. I’m just excited to hopefully get that opportunity and try to win ballgames.”

In other words, ComPETE.

It started as a mantra for Strzelecki during his college days. He now wants to use it as a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., to honor his father.

Strzelecki was in college when his father Kevin died suddenly at age 52 after suffering a heart attack while working at his construction job. Kevin Strzelecki lost a brother to cancer and St. Jude’s became his charity of choice.

Peter Strzelecki and two friends created Define New Boundaries, which sells ComPETE T-shirts as part of its clothing line.

“It’s a brand but it’s bigger than a brand,” Strzelecki said. “It’s a way for me to kind of give back to (my father) and everything he did for me and my family. It’s another way that hopefully I can get involved with the community. He always wanted me to give back to St. Jude’s. So, it’s a way for me to kind of make that connection and that’s what I’m looking to do here. I’m hoping to be here in Pittsburgh for as long as possible and build those connections.”

Strzelecki certainly seems like someone worth connecting with.