The Pittsburgh Pirates still have roster decisions to make, but pitcher Clayton Richard made his intentions clear Wednesday; he wants to stay with the team.
When the Pirates signed Richard to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, he had an opt out clause Tuesday and opted not to use it. This spring, Richard has a 1-1 record with a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings.
Richard has been considered to be a ‘reclamation project’ by many however under pitching coach Ray Searage and Jim Benedict, a special assistant to the general manager, but also someone that has helped Charlie Morton among others. Richard had AC joint surgery in 2013.
“We just thought it would be best to stay here and work some stuff out,” Richard said to Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects. “I’ve had such a good experience with everyone here. We’re going in the right direction. It seems like the right move to stay here and keep on making that progress.”
Many teams were interested in Richard, a 31-year-old right-handed pitcher who owns a 46-47 career record with the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. The Pirates stuck out to him because of a conversation he had with Edinson Volquez. Volquez had a successful season that turned into a two-year, $20 million contract with the Kansas City Royals.
Earlier this Spring Training the team’s Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians used Richard to tease the upcoming season. Richard spent 2014 in both the Double and Triple-A affiliates of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Our goal is to get Clayton Richard back to the big leagues, we hope it’s with us, we believe it’s going to be with us,” General Manager Neal Huntington said to media earlier this season. “We are going to need more than five starters, we are probably going to need more than six starters.”
Photo credit: Bradenton Herald
