Pirates A to Z: Lefty reliever Manny Banuelos hopes to finally find a home in bullpen

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Miguel Andujar to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: Manny Banuelos

Position: Relief pitcher

Throws: Left

Age: 31 (March 13)

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 215 pounds

2022 MLB statistics: Went 2-1 with a 4.39 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 41 innings over 35 appearances, striking out 42 while walking 21.

Contract: Pre-arbitration eligible.

Acquired: Trade with the New York Yankees for cash considerations on July 3.

This past season: Banuelos already capped an incredible comeback story when he pitched four games for the Yankees, where he was signed as a teenage phenom out of Mexico and was a former top pitching prospect whose career was sidetracked by injury.

“I’ve said before it was one of my dreams and I made it,” Banuelos said. “I feel like every player that signs with an organization, with a team, that’s what everybody wants: They want to make it. And I did it. A different way but I did. I’m glad to say I pitched for the Yankees. It was fun.”

A circuitous career included major league stops in Atlanta, Los Angeles — with both the Angels and Dodgers — Chicago and Seattle before Banuelos played in Taiwan and the Mexican League before returning to the majors as a reliever who relied more upon breaking pitches than he did his four-seam fastball and sinker.

“He’s probably a good example of why it’s so difficult to be precise in projecting pitching,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He was a top prospect himself that has obviously took a lot of time and went through a lot of steps, twists and turns to get back to where he is now. So I think it’s probably a lot harder to project pitching but also a reminder of how possible it is for pitchers to keep getting better and finding a way to figure it out.”

Here are the 5 best individual non-submarine "curveballs" (pitches tagged as CU/KC/CS) thrown this year by Pitching+ (so pitch physics and location).

5) Manny Bañuelos of the Pirates on 7/8/2022
- MPH: 80.0
- Induced VB: -1.7"
- HB: -15.6"
- Pitching+: 290.0 pic.twitter.com/JAlC44wMIh

— Jeremy Maschino (@JMaschino_56) October 21, 2022

Pirates manager Derek Shelton found Banuelos to be an easy player to root for, given all that he’d overcome and how he’d reinvented himself to make it back to the majors.

“What it shows,” Shelton said, “is his willingness to pitch, wanting to pitch and being determined to prove that he can pitch at the highest level.”

The Pirates activated Banuelos in time to face the Yankees on July 6 at PNC Park in hopes that he could provide much-needed help as lefty bullpen arm against a power-hitting lineup filled with right-handed bats.

“This may surprise you, but we like guys that can throw length and are versatile,” Shelton said. “But when you have a guy that can possibly be a left-on-left guy and can be versatile and extend out, that’s something that’s really intriguing to us.”

His debut was a disaster: Banuelos surrendered five earned runs, including a 419-foot grand slam to Aaron Judge, in one-third of an inning in the 16-0 loss. After that, however, Banuelos proved to the Pirates that he could pitch, with a 0.66 ERA over his next 13 2/3 innings.

“Honestly, I think we pushed that first start away,” Shelton said. “It might have even been a little unfair. It was right away against his former club and, since then, he really hadn’t gotten his feet wet yet. … The one thing that you really like about Manny is he wants the ball and he wants to pitch. When you have a guy like that, you’re able to deploy him. He’s done a nice job versus right-handers, too, which is really important.”

The future: Banuelos might have proven his greatest value in the final week of the season, when a contingent of young Latin pitchers congregated around his locker in the middle of the Pirates’ clubhouse.

After the trade-deadline deal that sent Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton to St. Louis, Banuelos became one of the most veteran Spanish-speaking players on the team. Given his history, he hoped to help mentor his younger teammates through the ups and downs the game presents.

“I have a lot of years pitching, so I would like to talk to help a lot of young guys, with everything I know, teach them,” Banuelos said. “If they have some troubles, I would like to show them and teach them.”

Banuelos encountered his own share of struggles late in the season, when he was used on a frequent basis. After a strong stretch in August, he gave up four runs on three hits against Cincinnati. He was 2-1 with a 4.96 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 31 appearances with the Pirates, striking out 34 while walking 18, and even turned a wild pitch into a spectacular play at the plate to tag out Christopher Morel of the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 23.

In one of the oddest plays you'll ever see, @Pirates P Manny Bañuelos throws a 'wild pitch' which the catcher can't find, so #Cubs CF Christopher Morel tries to score from 3rd, however the ball had popped straight up, then Bañuelos caught it and tagged Morel out.@Cubs #GoCubsGo pic.twitter.com/zSTWzVXfCg

— Billy Krumb (@ClubhouseCancer) September 24, 2022

Pirates bullpen coach Justin Meccage noted that Banuelos showed “flashes” of the swing-and-miss they are seeking but was “on and off.”

“Early on, he was really good against left-handed hitters. He got swing-and-miss, then he went through a little bit of a rough stretch towards the end,” Meccage said. “That’s something he’s capable of doing. He’s got two good breaking balls that he can land for strikes and for chase. It’s about being a little bit more in the zone, just being more relentless in the zone so that it creates a little bit more panic in hitters.”

There’s no panic in Banuelos, though. He knows what it’s like to fail repeatedly, suffer setbacks and overcome obstacles. And he’s hoping that he’s finally found a home with the Pirates.

“As a player, you just don’t want to be in the big leagues; you want to compete, you want to play,” Banuelos said. “When I was (with the Yankees), I understood what my role was with the bullpen. I feel like being here, I have more chance. I’m happy because I feel healthy and strong. That whole year has been good for me, and I just want to keep doing it and doing it. Here I feel like I’m going to have more chances. Every time they give me that chance to pitch, I’m going to do my best.”