The Pirates have agreed to terms with another reliever. This time it is Brendan Donnelly. Donnelly has been a very productive reliever over the past several years. He struggled in 2008 as he returned from Tommy John surgery, but rebounded nicely last year, posting a 1.78 ERA and a 2.82 FIP in 30 appearances with the Marlins. He also spent part of the year pitching with Houston’s Triple-A team and was equally effective. For his career, he has struck out just under a batter an inning with a manageable walk rate. His ground ball rate is below average, but he keeps the ball in the ballpark by inducing a large amount of infield pop-ups.
Not long ago, the Pirates were looking at a bullpen of Evan Meek, Joel Hanrahan and…Steven Jackson? In a very short amount of time, Neal Huntington has added several quality options.
