Pirates RHP Roansy Contreras wants to add changeup to repertoire, stop-and-go seasons

Roansy Contreras worked on his changeup and curveball over the offseason in an effort to round out his repertoire with pitches that can play off his four-seam fastball and slider.

The 23-year-old right-hander showed that he belongs in the major leagues last year by going 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.274 WHIP in 21 appearances, tied with Mitch Keller for the most wins among Pittsburgh Pirates starters and second to Jose Quintana in ERA and WHIP.

Now, what Contreras wants to change up most is the stop-and-go seasons he has endured the past two years, when the Pirates shut him down in the middle of the summer to protect his arm. He made the fewest starts (18) and pitched the fewest innings (95) of the six-man rotation.

“That was part of my routine and preparation in the offseason,” Contreras said through translator Stephen Morales, “to make sure I can do that this year, go from the beginning to the end healthy.”

Contreras came into spring training last year hoping to earn a spot in the starting rotation only to have the Pirates throw him a curveball by optioning him to Triple-A Indianapolis. Contreras was recalled April 9, two days after reliever Duane Underwood Jr. strained his hamstring on Opening Day.

This spring, Contreras is confident he belongs in the starting rotation but well aware he still has much to prove to the Pirates.

“My mindset is always to win a spot and not feel like I earned a spot already or for sure in the rotation,” Contreras said. “I keep my mindset to come here and work hard every day and not think about a spot in that rotation. That way, I can be the best version of myself every day.”

The Pirates optioned Contreras three more times last season, including an early-July shutdown to protect his arm. It was the second time in as many seasons that Contreras stopped throwing; he took two months off in 2021 after experiencing soreness in his right forearm.

“One of the reasons we did what we did last year was we knew we had to build him to be able to sustain over a full season, and that was really important for us,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We were really deliberate in terms of how we went about our process last year with some of our young pitchers, Ro being one of ‘em, to make sure that we can build them up to handle a full year.”

If Contreras is going to pitch a full season, he knew he needed a full arsenal. He leaned heavily on his four-seamer (48.6%) and slider (34.2%) compared to the curve (14.4%) and changeup (2.9%).

Contreras wants to lower his hard-hit rate (45.9%) and not allow batters to sit on his fastball, which was hit for a .276 average and .541 slugging percentage last season. Even though he threw the changeup 46 times, batters made contact nine times and got three hits, including a homer.

“The main thing right now is to just throw those pitches around the strike zone,” Contreras said. “Just work on that because there’s proof that the more strikes you throw, the more chances you have to be successful. My changeup has the same action as my fastball, so I can see the surprise effect on their faces when I throw a really good changeup.”

If Contreras can effectively work his changeup into his pitch mix, it will allow him to offset a fastball that averaged 95.6 mph last season. Batters didn’t fare well against his breaking pitches, hitting .163 against the slider and .212 against the curve.

“It’s just another weapon,” Shelton said. “When you’re a starting pitcher, having as many weapons as you can have and be able to attack both sides of the plate and execute the pitches. I think we have to remember Ro’s only 23, so we’re going to see him continue to blossom with his repertoire, and the changeup’s just another addition to it.”