MARINO SALAS

2/2/81; NDFA '98 (Baltimore); Dominican Republic
R/R; 6-0, 190

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
1998 DSL (Balt)
3-3-3
21
0
43.1
47
 4
28
25
 5.82 5.19 1.73 .280
4.15
1999 DSL (Balt)
8-2-2
23
0
47.0
46
 5
24
43
 4.60 8.23 1.49 .249
2.87
2000 DSL (Balt)
3-3-6
23
0
37.2
39
 8
18
31
 4.30 7.41 1.51 .264
4.30
2001 R (Balt)
1-5-6
15
0
18.2
21
 0
13
10
 6.27 4.82 1.82 .288
4.82
2002 R+ (Balt)
3-0-0
27
0
36.2
44
 6
21
23
 5.15 5.65 1.77 .291
5.40
2003 R+ (Balt)
1-2-0
23
0
35.0
36
 1
9
27
 2.31 6.94 1.29 .271
4.89
2004 A (Balt)
2-4-13
40
0
50.1
51
 5
17
46
 3.04 8.23 1.35 .252
2.15
2005 A+ (Balt)
4-2-16
50
0
62.0
54
 7
28
63
 4.06
9.15
1.32
.233
3.63
2006 AA (Balt)
2-6-19
44
0
49.1
38
 3
17
46
 3.10
8.39
1.11
.215
2.92
2007 AAA (Mil)
0-1-0
14
0
23.2
27
 7
8
25
 3.04
9.51
1.48
.278
4.94
2007 AA (Mil)
0-0-17
37
0
38.0
25
 2
14
29
 3.32
6.87
1.03
.189
1.42
2008 NL
1-0-0
13
0
17.0
25
4
14
9
7.41
4.76
2.29
.357
8.47
2008 AAA
4-4-4
40
0
57.0
40
6
30
54
4.74
8.53
1.23
.195
3.47

The Pirates acquired Salas and Kevin Roberts in a trade for Salomon Torres.  Salas made little progress in his first six years as a pro, then began improving steadily in 2004.  Of course, by then he was very old for the leagues he was playing in.  He's had good K rates and has been increasingly hard to hit over the last few years.  His opponents' OPS has tended to be around 100 points lower against RH hitters.  He throws a fastball 92-94 and has an improving slider.  Still, he's been in pro ball for ten seasons and has pitched only briefly, and not well, in AAA.  He was waived by the Orioles in early 2007 and also went unselected in the Rule 5 draft later that year, so other teams don't seem to regard him as a prospect.  His transaction history is a little puzzling.  The Brewers claimed him on waivers in February 2007, then optioned him to the minors early in the next month.  They then outrighted him to AA that same month, so they must have decided they needed a roster spot.  That means they wasted one of his options, with the Orioles having used another one in 2006.  Salas became a free agent after the season but re-signed with the Brewers.  The net result was that he opened 2008 on a minor league contract.

Salas dominated early in AAA, posting an ERA of 0.51 in April.  Jesse Chavez also got off to a great start, but when the Pirates needed a reliever they went with Salas, which may reflect a preference for players acquired by the team's new management.  Chavez spent much of May in the majors and also was called up briefly once each in June and July, then finally came up in September.  He pitched consistently badly, getting hit hard, walking a lot of batters and not fanning many.  At age 27, it's hard to see him as more than a AAA pitcher and there seems little reason to keep him on the 40-man roster.  The Pirates have already spent a season stumbling along with a bullpen loaded with pitchers who throw hard but can't find the strike zone.  With Tyler Yates and Craig Hansen ahead of him on the depth chart, as well as possibly Chavez, Romulo Sanchez and, if the team keeps him around, Denny Bautista, there shouldn't be any room for Salas.  Neal Huntington may, however, want to hang onto him to try to salvage something from the Torres trade.  Given that Torres had a very good year for the Brewers, the Pirates' bullpen was a disaster area, and Roberts flopped in AA, that trade looks like a major blunder.

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