Column | Why I am willing to kick the tires on Ben Heller again

There’s no question that one of the most unpopular Pittsburgh Pirates players last year was reliever Ben Heller. 

A journeyman righty who the Pirates signed to a minor league contract last December, Heller found himself on the wrong side of both franchise and baseball history last season despite playing in limited time. 

The 33-year-old amassed just 12 innings last year for the Pirates, and his numbers are among the worst of any pitcher the Pirates have ever employed. His 11.25 ERA ranks as the fifth worst in team history for any pitcher who tossed double-digit innings for the club. 

But there is so much more than what meets the eye for Heller — enough that it would make me consider extending him another offer. 

Heller failed to make the major league team out of spring training but was given a prominent role in the bullpen for Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. Though his baseline stats through the first few months — a 4.91 ERA and 1.254 WHIP — were nothing too fancy, Heller was gaining notoriety for recording some of the best whiff rates in the minor leagues. 

By June, he would have led all major league receivers in whiff rate with three of his pitches. While the Pirates were hoping to keep him within the organization, other teams started to look into poaching Heller away from the Pirates. 

“It was pretty clear that we were gonna lose him if we didn’t select him.” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington would later say, justifying calling Heller up when he did. 

Heller made his Pirates debut on June 9, to the tune of four hits and five earned runs. It was a nightmare debut for the veteran, but it somehow paled in comparison to his second outing as a Pirate. Three days later, Heller was called upon to keep the game tied in extra innings. Instead, he was once again lit up for five hits, six earned runs and was charged with the loss. 

He became the eighth reliever in major league history to surrender 11 earned runs while only pitching two innings in separate games. In Heller’s second appearance, he plunked three batters, matching a team record set back in 1974 by Dock Ellis. The only problem is that Ellis was intentionally hitting people. Heller was not. 

Heller’s historically bad run led to his designation for assignment after his second game. He went unclaimed, allowing the Pirates to send him back to Triple-A. As you might have expected, the unidentified MLB team that was courting him suddenly lost interest. 

To his credit, Heller had a revival once he arrived in Indianapolis. Not only did his whiff and strikeout rates against Triple-A opponents continue to excel, but his ability to limit runs against him improved. In 14.2 innings after he was DFA’d, opponents batted just .102 against him, and Heller recorded a 1.84 ERA with 21 strikeouts. He was playing some tremendous ball. 

Despite that, it caused a bit of an uproar when the Pirates went back to Heller a second time, adding him again to the roster to fill in for injuries. While fans may not have celebrated his return, Heller understood the gravity of another chance and what it meant to him. 

“There was definitely a time where I thought I burned all bridges of ever getting another big-league opportunity,” Heller said to Pittsburgh Baseball Now. “Opportunities at this level don’t just grow on trees.”

But with injuries piling up in the Pirates’ bullpen, Heller was called upon to fill in innings. With a new jersey number and a new lease on baseball life, Heller had a statement performance in his first game back. With the bases loaded in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, Heller faced the heart of LA’s $330 million lineup and struck out the side — a truly gutsy performance that showed a lot more of what Heller is capable of. 

He tossed 10 innings and limited damage to just four earned runs and 12 strikeouts. During the team’s 10-game losing streak, Heller was one of the few Pirate relievers who actually contributed. I thought his response to early-season adversity was very encouraging to see. 

His season ended in late August when he landed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, which could explain why he gave up all of his earned runs in his last two outings. 

People aren’t going to like it when I say this, but the Pirates should give him an offer in the offseason. Understandably, fans remember his season for his first two games, but when I look at Heller’s season as a whole, I see a guy who suffered some horrible luck at the beginning and showed what he could do with more time. 

Assuming Heller is willing to take a minor league deal — and I suspect he will — I would grant him one. He’s a low-risk guy to take a flier on, and he’s fine for what he is — a fringe big leaguer. 

His Triple-A season ended with a respectable 3.55 ERA, a dominant 1.000 WHIP and a 15.0 K/9 ratio — definitely a player that you would like to have as an internal option. 

His second look in the majors saw him put up a 3.60 ERA and 1.500 WHIP, only slightly above what his career big league numbers looked like before signing in Pittsburgh. He has a good pitching arsenal, and when things are clicking like they did in August, Heller is a decent middle-inning reliever. 

You can never have too much pitching, especially when it’s stashed in Triple-A. The Pirates have some work to do in rebuilding their bullpen depth, and Heller at least fills a spot. He is a lot better than what he showed at times last year, and I can’t help but wonder what he could do next year. Give him an invite to spring training and see what he can do. If he flounders, oh well. If he shines, then things get really interesting, don’t they?