After struggling with southpaw batters with their left-handers out of the bullpen, the Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping for a boost from former New York Yankee and Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Tim Mayza. Per MLB.com sources, Mayza is in the process of finalizing a one-year, $1.15 million deal with the Bucs pending a successful physical.

Left-handed batters were a problem for the southpaws in Pittsburgh's bullpen last year, as the Pirates gave up a National League-worst .267 batting average and 12 percent walk rate in lefty vs. lefty matchups.

Despite a down year for Mayza in 2024, he was able to hold left-handed hitters to a .244 average, which would be a welcome addition to the Pittsburgh pen.

That may have been the only highlight for Mayza last season, as his numbers dipped substantially from 2023. The 33-year-old Mayza came out of Toronto's bullpen to open the season and was battered for an 8.03 ERA in 24 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment. The Jays released Mayza on July 5 with the Yankees signing him to a minor league contract five days later.

Mayza played nine games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, tallying a 2.16 ERA, leading to the Yankees calling him up to the active roster on Aug. 16. He appeared in 15 games for New York, recording 12 strikeouts and a 4.00 ERA in 18 innings. In November the Yankees decided to non-tender Mayza, sending him to free agency.

Tim Mayza had extreme one-year drop-off

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New York Yankees pitcher Tim Mayza (58) pitches during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field.
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Mayza's 2024 numbers were surprising considering how solid he was for the Blue Jays the year before. The Pirates are hoping Mayza returns to that 2023 form, where he solidified himself with a 1.52 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings.

According to MLB.com, Mayza's “average fastball velocity dipped from 93.4 mph to 92.5 mph, and his strikeout rate dropped from 24.7% to 14.4%. He still was able to generate ground balls at a high rate of 46.4%, but that figure was also significantly less than in 2023 (59.2%).”

For his career, Mayza has pitched 301 2/3 innings with 304 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.88.