When Miguel Yajure received an anonymous call on Jan. 24, he treated it like many would: He let it go straight to voicemail.
However, after the call was silenced, everything erupted. Yajure scratched his head as he got text after text welcoming him to the Pirates. It turns out that number was one he maybe should have had in his phone.
“Like one minute after, everyone started wishing me good luck with the Pirates and [saying], 'Welcome to the Pirates,'” Yajure said. “And I went like, 'Wow!' The call was from [Yankees general manager Brian] Cashman to tell me I'd been traded to the Pirates."
The Yankees dealt Yajure along with three other prospects -- pitcher Roansy Contreras, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba and shortstop Maikol Escotto -- for Jameson Taillon in the last of three big trades Pittsburgh executed this offseason, along with unloading Josh Bell and Joe Musgrove, to bring a base of young talent back to the organization.
Once Yajure realized this was his new reality, he also had another problem to deal with.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘What am I going to do with all my clothes from the Yankees?’” he said.
With most of his Yankees merchandise now given away, Yajure arrives in Pittsburgh with some high praise to his name. The Pirates’ No. 14 prospect per MLB Pipeline wasn’t a premier prospect in the Yanks’ system like Jasson Dominguez or Clarke Schmidt, but he’s seen as a pitcher with great command, Major League velocity and a four-pitch mix that is effective across the board.
But others in New York were higher on Yajure than the rankings showed. A scout told Brendan Kuty of nj.com in August 2019 -- the year the right-handed Yajure led all farmhands with a 2.14 ERA -- that Yajure was “the best pitcher in the organization” at the time.
“When we acquired him, I talked to some guys that I knew with the Yankees, and they said really positive things about him -- about the kid, about his ability to command the baseball, about his ability to stay on the plate,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. “And that’s something that’s extremely important to us.”
Yajure's status as a top prospect wasn’t lost on him, but Yajure has never really been focused on it.
“I’m a person who takes pride in working hard for what I accomplish,” Yajure said. “I believe that once I allow that to get into my head, I’m going to lose my focus. I want to remain hungry.”
Yajure showed his strengths on Tuesday, striking out sluggers Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud to end two hitless innings against the stronger half of the Braves’ order. And Yajure was nearly part of a combined no-hitter for the Pirates in a 10-1 win against the Braves at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla., but the threat was ended with two outs in the ninth inning.
An area of emphasis entering camp for Yajure has been his cutter, which he’s working to get to break a little more vertically, and as always, command of his four-seam fastball, which allows his other pitches -- a slider, a changeup and a curveball -- to play off them.
There is one pitch Yajure feels he can turn to with ease: his curveball. It grades as average, but he said his feel for it allows him to command it. He threw it for the first pitch in his first three MLB games last season, and he threw it in 3-2 counts, too.
“I throw it every bullpen, every game with confidence,” he said. “I can control it really good.”
As long as he can keep that control intact, Yajure should make his first MLB outing as a Pirate sooner than later in 2021.The team has a crowded rotation and bullpen mix, with competition in both areas, and the good thing for Yajure is that he is a great option at both.
Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington said Yajure would enter camp as a starter when the team acquired him, and though he hasn’t started, his two innings on Tuesday are a sign of the length the club will give him this season.
In either scenario, Yajure is already setting goals for himself. The big-picture ones that fuel his dreams: winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award or making the All-Star team. The more manageable ones that he can largely control: staying healthy, sticking at the big league level and throwing 200 innings, the latter which may need to be tabled as the Pirates manage innings coming out of a shortened season.
However, first things come first. He’s learning names, he’s making impressions and he’s earning his spot on the team with his work in Florida.
“I feel really, really comfortable right now,” Yajure said.