Dauri Moreta Takes Celebration One Step Further After Finishing Year Strong (+)
PITTSBURGH — When Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Dauri Moreta exits a game, he lives up to his nickname.
‘Big Bank,’ as he’s been tabbed, makes money gestures with his hands as he walks from the pitcher’s mound to the dugout.
In the Pirates’ final game of 2023 on Sunday, a 3-0 win over the Miami Marlins, Moreta struck out the side in the eighth inning. As he approached the dugout steps, Moreta did his usual celebration. This time, though, the right-hander incorporated a prop.
Moreta reached into his pocket, pulled out a crisp $20 bill and used it in his celebration.
“Last game of the season…It’s something that I wanted to do (Saturday), but it didn’t happen for the situation,” he said. “I don’t know, (Sunday) was really good. The team played really good and we won.”
The eccentric Moreta doesn’t usually pitch with actual money in his pocket, but he had it ready to go in both of his appearances against the Marlins over the weekend.
His actions in the season finale are fitting for how his own season ended — ‘Big Bank’ has been money.
Since he was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sept. 22, he’s logged 7.0 spotless innings. In addition to not allowing a run, he didn’t allow even a single base runner.
In five appearances, he hadn’t yielded a hit, hadn’t issued a free pass and he punched out 10 opposing batters.
Looking at the numbers as a whole, the 27-year-old put together a solid first season with the Pirates. His even stronger finish is more about feeling better after some injury concerns earlier in the season than anything else.
“I’m healthy. I had some back pain and I was working hard to be ready and get back and that’s what I did,” Moreta said.
With his performance, it seems reasonable to expect Moreta to have a bullpen spot secured on the big league roster come opening day 2024. Of course, a lot can happen between now and then, but Moreta was one of the more reliable relief options for manager Derek Shelton to call upon.
With how he finished the year, his case to crack next year’s roster when the Pirates play the Marlins in Miami on Mar. 28 looks even stronger.
Moreta worked his way back from a sore back and a stint in the minor leagues to become as dominant of a relief pitcher in the league during the final couple weeks.
“It’s very important to me,” he said on his second stint. “That’s why I’ve been working hard to get healthy. I know how important it is to finish strong.”
Moreta’s success to end the year aligns with what his team did, though the Pirates’ string of good baseball spans even longer.
Since the end of July, the Pirates have played baseball at a slightly above .500 clip as a whole. They finished the year 76-86, a 14-game improvement from a season ago.
Moreta echoed similar comments to what many of his teammates said in the Pirates’ last series of the season. He thinks next year could be special.
“I think next year will be a fun year. It will be an interesting year because we all grew together and I think we can make the playoffs next year. “
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