Pirates Acquire LHP Manny Bañuelos from Yankees for Cash Considerations

During his radio show, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington announced that they acquired left-handed pitcher Manny Beñuelos from the New York Yankees for cash considerations. Beñuelos is a 31-year-old relief pitcher from Mexico and has seen his fair share of teams, to say the least. 

Bañuelos has been a part of six Major League organizations and spent 4+ seasons outside of the U.S. Bañuelos started his career in the Yankees’ organization in 2008 and then spent the next four years battling in their Minor League system before being traded to the Atlanta Braves in 2015.

Bañuelos made his Major League debut at the age of 24 for the Braves in 2015, where he went 1-4 with a 5.13 ERA. Bañuelos wouldn’t see Major League action until 2019 with the Chicago White Sox and accumulated a 6.93 ERA. Bañuelos then spent the next three seasons between Mexico and China before being signed by the Yankees for the 2022 season. 

In 30.2 innings pitched with the Yankees Triple-A team, Bañuelos put up a 2.35 ERA and started five out of his seven appearances. On May 26th, the Yankees selected Bañuelos’ contract and called him up to the big leagues, and in his short time, he performed rather well out of the pen.     

In 8.1 innings pitched, Bañuelos posted a 2.16 ERA and held opponents to a .219/.286/.281/ slash line with an OPS of .567. On June 28th, the Yankees had to make room on their 40-man and designated Bañuelos for assignment. 

Cherington mentioned that he expects Bañuelos to be available to the team soon, and since there is a 40-man spot open on the Pirates, he should slot right in as an effective left-handed reliever. Since Anthony Banda was traded on Saturday, the Pirates were left with only one left-hander in the bullpen, which explains the Bañuelos trade.