Domingo Germán Headlines Crew Of Pirates To Elect Free Agency

Domingo Germán spent less than a calendar year with the Pittsburgh Pirates before walking away to elect free agency — along with five other members of the organization.

Germán, 32, went 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA through seven appearances (two starts) with the Pirates this season, pitching for the first time for a club that isn’t the New York Yankees — Germán spent six seasons prior in the Bronx. Pittsburgh took a chance on the right-hander in March by signing Germán to a one-year, $1.25 million contract, giving the veteran 11 appearances across its minor league system from Single-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis. Now, back on the open market, per MiLB transactions, Germán will seek his latest opportunity after wrapping up a brief stay with the Pirates.

Here are the other five players who also will hit the open market:

Edward Olivares, outfielder
The 28-year-old made 55 appearances with the big league club this past season following a trade with the Kansas City Royals to improve Pittsburgh’s outfield depth. Olivares batted .224 with five home runs and 23 RBIs, striking out 37 times in 174 at-bats with the Pirates. He was demoted to Triple-A on Aug. 10 and didn’t return for the remaining month-plus of the season.

Billy McKinney, outfielder
Pittsburgh landed McKinney in a trade with the Yankees during the offseason, but the 30-year-old rarely got to play at the big league level. McKinney spent most of 2024 in the minors, hitting .289 with five home runs and 19 RBIs while splitting time in Single-A and Triple-A and logging 10 appearances with the Pirates — going 5-for-25 with 13 strikeouts.

Ryder Ryan, right-handed pitcher
Ryan got his feet wet as a second-year big leaguer by making 15 appearances with the Pirates out of the bullpen, going 1-0 with a 5.66 ERA across 20 2/3 innings. The 29-year-old was promoted and demoted from Triple-A to Pittsburgh several times throughout the year and logged 32 appearances with Indianapolis, recording a 4.61 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Jake Woodford, right-handed pitcher
The Pirates signed Woodford after he was designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox in June. Pittsburgh used the 24-year-old seven times (five starts) as he pitched to a 7.09 ERA, allowing 27 runs in 26 2/3 innings with the team.

Justin Bruihl, left-handed pitcher
Pittsburgh added the 27-year-old on a minor-league deal in June. From there, Bruihl made seven appearances of relief with the Pirates and notched a 9.53 ERA, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings thrown. He also recorded a less-inflated 3.93 ERA while pitching 18 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate.

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