The Pittsburgh Pirates announced a few moves this afternoon. The team claimed right-hander Chad Beck off waivers from Toronto, and catcher Ali Solis off waivers from San Diego. To make room on the 40-man roster, they designated Jeff Clement and Eric Fryer for assignment.
Beck, who turns 28 in January, has just 18 innings in the majors, with a 5.50 ERA, a 6.0 K/9, and a 2.5 BB/9 ratio. Last year in Triple-A he had a 1.31 ERA in 48 innings with a 4.5 K/9 and a 2.4 BB/9 ratio as a reliever in the PCL. He’s a hard thrower, with his fastball sitting in the 94-97 MPH range.
Solis turned 25 in September, and has just four at-bats in the majors. Last year he played in Double-A, hitting for a .283/.307/.419 line in 329 at-bats. In their report on the catching depth in the system at the end of 2011, PadresProspects.com listed Solis in the “Guys you don’t need to worry about unless something crazy happens” category, which isn’t high praise.
These moves remind me of last year when the Pirates made some waiver claims around the same time. They claimed Brian Jeroloman and Jeremy Hefner. Neither player looked special at the time, and both players were designated for assignment later in the off-season. My guess is that we’ll see the same thing with these guys, with the Pirates trying to sneak them through waivers later in the off-season.