The Pittsburgh Pirates today signed right-handed pitchers Austin Brice and Chase De Jong to minor league contracts, which will include an invitation to big league camp.
The 29-year-old Brice was a member of Boston’s Opening Day roster in 2021, where he went 0-0 with a 6.59 ERA (13.2ip/10er) and 12 strikeouts in two separate stints with the Red Sox.
Brice also went 3-0 with two saves, a 3.27 ERA (33.0ip/12er), 34 strikeouts and .212 batting average against in 26 appearances (two starts) with Triple-A Worcester during the 2021 campaign.
Brice has gone 4-4 with a 5.17 ERA (162.0ip/93er) and 155 strikeouts in 140 appearances (one start) during his big league career with Miami (2016 and 2019), Cincinnati (2017-18) and Boston (2020-21).
De Jong attended spring training as a non-roster invitee with the Pirates in 2021. He began the season at the alternate training site in Pittsburgh before assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he went 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA (20.0ip/8er) in four starts. De Jong was selected to Pittsburgh’s Major League roster on May 30 and went 1-4 with a 5.77 ERA (43.2ip/28er) in nine starts before having season-ending surgery on July 27 to repair the cartilage of his medial femoral condyle in his left knee.
Since breaking into the big leagues in 2017, De Jong has gone 2-9 with a 6.52 ERA (98.0ip/71er) and 74 strikeouts in 24 appearances (19 starts) with Seattle (2017), Minnesota (2018-19), Houston (2020) and Pittsburgh (2022).
