The Pittsburgh Pirates have purchased the contract of left handed reliever Joe Beimel, and have designated left handed reliever Garrett Olson for assignment. Beimel was signed in late January to a minor league deal, paying him $1,750,000 in the majors, with $300,000 in potential performance bonuses. He suffered a few injuries during Spring Training, and wasn’t able to start the season on the 25-man roster, which prompted the Pirates to claim Olsen off of waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
Olson made four appearances with the Pirates, with a 2.08 ERA, and a 4:3 K/BB ratio in 4.1 innings. The Pirates have ten days to trade, waive, or release him. My guess is that they’ll probably try to hang on to him, assuming he clears waivers, since the left handed options at the top of the system are slim.
Beimel made three rehab appearances in the minors, combining for three perfect innings and three strikeouts. He pitched on back to back days earlier this week, giving a good indication that he was ready to return.
The 40-man roster page and the 25-man roster page are each updated with the transactions.
