Philadelphia Phillies acquire Chase Shugart in in-state trade with Pittsburgh Pirates
The Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday acquired Chase Shugart in a trade with the Pirates, days after Pittsburgh designated the right-handed pitcher for assignment.
Philadelphia sent 18-year-old infielder Francisco Loreto to Pittsburgh.
The 29-year-old Shugart made 35 appearances with the Pirates last season, allowing 17 earned runs in 45 innings with 31 strikeouts, 17 walks and 126 ERA+. Righties hit .198 against him.
Shugart has a five-pitch arsenal, primarily using a sweeper (28.8%) and cutter (25.4%), according to Statcast. He also mixes in a sinker (19.9%) and four-seam fastball (18.8%) and occasionally uses a changeup (7.1%). His four-seamer averaged 95.4 mph last season.
Shugart is the latest in the Phillies' string of moves this offseason to add organizational bullpen depth. The Phillies signed free agent Brad Keller to fill a high-leverage role and then traded Matt Strahm to the Kansas City Royals for Jonathan Bowlan. The club has also acquired lefty reliever Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Yoniel Curet from the Tampa Bay Rays in trades and selected Zach McCambley in the Rule 5 draft. The Phils have signed a slew of relievers with MLB experience on minor league contracts or split deals, including Génesis Cabrera, Zach Pop, Jonathan Hernández, Bryse Wilson, Tucker Davidson and Trevor Richards.
After acquiring Shugart, the Phillies' 40-man roster stands at 40.
Loreto, who signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent in January 2024, slashed .237/.332/.396 in 47 games last season for the rookie-level Florida Complex League Phillies.