The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated relief pitcher Ramon Aguero for assignment, which opens a space for Jose Veras to be added to the 40-man roster. Aguero was added to the 40-man roster prior to the 2010 season, but missed most of the year with an injury. He only pitched 29.1 combined innings in 2010 between high-A and AA, putting up an 8.68 ERA in 18.2 innings at the AA level, along with a poor 6.8 BB/9 ratio.
I saw Aguero last week in Pirate City, when he was mostly sitting at 91-92 MPH. He did touch 94-95 MPH a few times, although his command was poor, and the velocity was a far cry from the 97 MPH he displayed prior to the 2010 season. The Pirates will have ten days to trade, waive, or release Aguero.
The Pirates also rounded out their roster by placing Chris Snyder, Brad Lincoln, Scott Olsen, and Jose Ascanio on the 15-day disabled list. The worst news out of that group is Lincoln, who will accumulate service time while on the disabled list. Snyder going on the disabled list means that Ryan Doumit will be the starting catcher, and Jason Jaramillo will serve as the backup. The 25-man roster has been updated, and is now finalized.