As the Bridgeport Bluefish begin to put the pieces together in hopes of making a repeat run to the Atlantic League Championship Series, they already have a major hole to plug as the team announced that its closer, Jorge Julio, has inked a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Julio, who saved 28 games for the ’Fish in 2009—second-best in the circuit—will report to the Pirates minor league camp in late February.
Julio is no stranger to the major leagues. In nine seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Indians, the 31-year-old right-hander has notched 17 wins and 99 saves in 453 games. He has struck out 448 batters in the bigs to go along with a 4.43 ERA in 467 innings. Overall, he has held major league batters to a .244 average. His best season came in 2002 with the Orioles when he posted career bests in wins (5) and ERA (1.99), picking up 25 saves and striking out 55 batters in 68 innings. He followed that up with 36 saves in 2003 and 22 saves in 2004—also with Baltimore.
His departure creates a gigantic void in the back-end of the Bridgeport bullpen. The Caracas, Venezuela native appeared in 55 games for the ’Fish in 2010. Besides finishing second in the Atlantic League with 28 saves, Julio held opposing batters to a miniscule .193 batting average, and fanned 57 batters in 55 innings. He followed on that success with a sterling winter season in his motherland, posting a 1.95 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League.
“We are very glad for Jorge to get this opportunity and wish him the best of luck,” said Bluefish manager Willie Upshaw. “He is a tremendous athlete and was a solid anchor for this pitching staff all season long.”
Besides, if things don’t work out in Pittsburgh, Julio will always have a home in the Park City.
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