It's Time for the Pirates to End the Jordan Lyles Experiment
By Michael Luciano
It turns out a guy with a career WAR of -2.6 and a career ERA of 5.25 may not be that good after all. Who knew?
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Jordan Lyles came into his start against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 4.91 ERA, but a FIP of 4.39 implies Lyles has been a bit unlucky this season. While the Pirates have been exploring trading Lyles in order to get some prospects back for a below average farm system, all of his value has evaporated following this start, as he gave up three home runs and eight runs in 1.2 innings.
The Pirates can shop Jordan Lyles, but I'm not sure what that return's gonna be. Gives up his third home run of the inning. Exits after allowing eight earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) July 24, 2019
His ERA now stands at a ghastly 5.68.
Everyone in Pittsburgh thought Lyles had finally figured it out when he had a 3.10 ERA by the end of May. However, mediocre starting pitchers will always regress to the mean, and Lyles' propensity for giving up home runs has sabotaged almost all of his trade value. At this point, Neal Huntington should just take whatever he can get.
The Pirates can shop Jordan Lyles, but I'm not sure what that return's gonna be. Gives up his third home run of the inning. Exits after allowing eight earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) July 24, 2019
Given the fact Lyles has an 18.00 ERA in three second half starts, it's unlikely the Pirates will get anything more than a bag of chips or the smallest of cash considerations for him. It's best for all parties if they just cut their losses and pretend this never happened.