The Philadelphia Phillies have announced that they have acquired Pirela from the Padres in exchange for cash considerations.
Pirela was recently designated for assignment on Monday by San Diego. The former one-time Yankee was a major asset in the Padres lineup back in 2017 and 2018. However, that time yielded a terrible .249/.300/.345 line in 473 plate appearances for the Padres. Apart from those numbers, he spent time moving around the field save catcher, shortstop, and center field. What he has proven is that he's a reliable defender. This season playing in El Paso, he slashed a .353/.401/.674 with 18 homers. It was clear, however, there was no long-term plans for him in the lineup with all the outfielders they have on their roster.
Now, Pirela will look to be a secondary option in the Phillies lineup. So far, only Brad Miller has proven himself to be a reliable secondary player. Many others on the Phillies in the same role haven't stepped up. Their bench players have a combined -2.5fWAR and they'll need to boost that if they want to lock down one of the two NL Wild Card spots that's up for jobs.
To make room for Pirela on their roster, the Phillies moved right-hander Tommy Hunter to the 60-day DL.
While Pirela did not do much for San Diego in the last few years, it's actually further proof that he could be a reliable bench player. As far as it went, he was not going to have a long-term spot on the Padres roster, considering all the outfielders they have. They have already tried to lessen the numbers by trading Alex Dickerson to the Giants and with the sudden rise of Manuel Margot in one of those spots, it looked like Pirela's time there was going to be done sooner or later.
Right now, the Phillies need bench bats and Pirela can surely provide that. Right now, they almost look like they could miss out on the playoffs, the way that team has played. However, if Pirela can come in and improve their shaky fWAR, they'll have a great chance to lock down a Wild Card spot when all is said and done.
Wish Pirela the best in Philadelphia and I hope it works out there better than it did in San Diego.
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