Pirates looking for lefty Steven Brault to add veteran presence to 6-man starting rotation

Following his first major league start in more than 10 months, Steven Brault swore he felt great. And the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander was intent on showing just how great he felt.

After throwing 75 pitches in four innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, Brault didn’t just say he could lift his arm. He actually lifted his left arm, extending it vertically. He didn’t just say he could move it around, he rotated it in circles.

Brault spent months in Bradenton recovering from a left lat strain, then made three rehabilitation starts for Triple-A Indianapolis. He was 0-1 with a 1.64 ERA, allowing two runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and one walk in 11 innings for the Indians. So the Pirates knew he was ready to pitch in the majors again.

The key was to see how he fared after pitching in a game.

“There’s nothing,” Brault said, indicating that he was pain-free. “I feel really good. It’s nice. My outings in Triple-A, I got to like 58 pitches, I think was the most. So to be able to come up here and be able to start that building of a workload is nice. It’s kind of fun to do it in the big leagues.”

In his four innings Wednesday, Brault allowed one run on three hits and one walk with two strikeouts. The Pirates ended up losing to the Brewers, 4-2.

From manager Derek Shelton to director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates have emphasized the importance of not only bringing Brault back to the starting rotation but keeping him healthy. Tomczyk credited Shelton and pitching coach Oscar Marin for how they have managed the workload of Pirates pitchers in the pandemic.

“I think we all can speculate that the intensity of the minor leagues and the major leagues is a little bit different,” Tomczyk said. “So that’ll be a factor. But from my lens, from my perspective, it’s that Steven gets through this first start healthy, he recovers well and then he’s pitching for the rest of the year. … They have not only the vision of the team but the overall health and perspective of Steven both short and long term in mind.”

The Pirates are counting on Brault to stabilize a starting rotation that is in flux. His return comes on the heels of the Pirates trading Tyler Anderson, the only left-hander in their starting rotation, to the Seattle Mariners and the only other returning starter from last season, Chad Kuhl, going on the covid injured list.

The Pirates have listed right-handers Wil Crowe, JT Brubaker, Mitch Keller and Bryse Wilson, acquired last week from the Atlanta Braves, as probable starters for their four-game series at the Cincinnati Reds. Shelton said Brault gives the Pirates “a little stability” of knowing they have a fifth starter. Kuhl’s return could make it a six-man rotation.

“We said we were going to be at six, so we’ll have to fill in that sixth spot when it comes up,” Shelton said, “but just having a guy with experience is helpful.”

Only Kuhl (84) has more career starts than Brault (46) among Pirates pitchers, though Brault has appeared in 15 more games than Kuhl. Brault has as many major league starts as Brubaker and Crowe combined, and one more than Keller and Wilson combined.

“Veteran arms are really important,” Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings said. “Typically, they’ve been through it and bring consistency.”

Stallings ticked off a list of reasons the Pirates are welcoming Brault’s return with open arms, given his ability to add levity to the locker room and dugout when he’s not on the mound.

“It’s been really weird not having him in the dugout on my off days just to hang out with and talk to,” Stallings said. “He’s, obviously, a big personality, in a good way. He brings a lot of energy and just a lot of positivity to the clubhouse, so I think it’s been uplifting, for sure. At least it’s been really uplifting for me to have him around.”

What’s odd for Brault is how many new faces there are on the pitching staff since last season. The bullpen alone features David Bednar, Kyle Keller, Luis Oviedo, Chasen Shreve, Shea Spitzbarth and Duane Underwood Jr. No wonder Brault has had to reintroduce himself to some teammates who are still relative newcomers, which he feels like.

“It is weird to come in and be like, ‘Yeah, I swear I’ve been here longer than most of the people here,’” Brault said, adding that he hopes to help the starters form a close bond. “The best thing is when the starting rotation is kind of competing against each other in a friendly way. You know what I mean? One day, one person does well, so the next day the other person wants to do better. You kind of keep going like that. Whenever somebody has a start they’re not happy with, the other guys are there to build you up and pick you back up.”

Brault knows that building his arm back up to major-league caliber is a process. While Brault acknowledged that he didn’t have great stuff in his first start — the velocity on his four-seam fastball was down to 91.5 mph and his changeup and slider “were a little bit more side to side” — he recovered from a rough first inning to retire the final four batters he faced and allowed only one run on three hits and one walk.

“It’s kind of nice to face a good team and not get shellacked the first start back, so I think it’ll be a good progression, a good build,” Brault said. “I’m excited to see where we go from here.”