Abrahan

Gutierrez

Once again, there are no major surprises among this batch of cuts for the Pirates. Plassmeyer pitched very well in Grapefruit League action — hurling 3 2/3 innings of shutout baseball while registering a 1.36 WHIP and a 4/1 K/BB ratio over 3 2/3 innings. Expect him to get an opportunity with the big league club at some point during the 2024 campaign.

The 21-year-old top prospect wound up making five appearances in his first professional season — posting a 5.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 10/2 K/BB ratio over 6 2/3 innings across three minor league levels. He’s a longshot to crack the Pirates’ Opening Day rotation, but don’t be surprised if we see him at some point in 2024. The 12 other players invited to major league spring training were INF Andres Alvarez, C Carter Bins, INF Jack Brannigan, RHP Bubba Chandler, OF Matt Gorski, C Abrahan Gutierrez, RHP Thomas Harrington, INF Termarr Johnson, RHP Jared Jones, INF Joe Perez, LHP Anthony Solameto and RHP Sean Sullivan.

Gutierrez had been slated to go to Pittsburgh as part of the Tyler Anderson trade which didn’t wind up happening, but he’s ultimately found his way to the Pirates, anyway. The 21-year-old has a .849 OPS with five homers at the Low-A level this season. He was not ranked by MLB.com among the Phillies’ top 30 prospects.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that catcher Abrahan Gutierrez will be going to the Pirates. Ogle, 24, holds a 3.13 ERA and 42/23 K/BB ratio over 31 2/3 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. He is not on the Pirates’ 40-man roster.

Once a very highly regarded international prospect, Gutierrez was one of the players the Braves lost as a result of the signing scandal that got GM Alex Anthopoulos banned for life. He signed with the Phillies after becoming a free agent, but his stock has dropped since then and he hit .246/.314/.318 as a 19-year-old in low-A ball last year. There’s still plenty of time for him to get it together, but even if he starts hitting, it’s unclear if he’ll last behind the plate.

Gutierrez was one of the international prospects the Braves had to surrender as part of their punishment for violating international signing rules. The 18-year-old catcher from Caracas, Venezuela will receive a $550,000 signing bonus from Philadelphia, and he gets to keep the $3.53 million bonus that he got from Atlanta in 2016. Gutierrez will likely spend the majority of the 2018 season in rookie ball.

As of now, the Braves are expected to lose six prospects. In addition to Gutierrez and Kevin Maitan, Badler confirms that the club will surrender rights to second baseman Yunior Severino and right-hander Juan Contreras. It’s worth noting that these were the club’s top-four bonuses from the 2016 international class. According to Badler, the prospects involved in the punishment are expected to have restrictions on their free agency. Gutierrez, 18, batted .264/.319/.357 with one homer and 12 RBI over 35 games in rookie ball this past season.