- The Pirates have claimed Wood.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed Brandon Wood. The move is not unexpected, as earlier this morning Colin Dunlap mentioned that the Pirates were certain to make a claim on the former Angels’ top prospect.
Rosenthal also tweets that Wood could get a shot at shortstop, as the team has not been happy with Ronny Cedeno. I’ve already mentioned a few times that Wood isn’t an upgrade over Cedeno. Cedeno has been bad, but not to the point where anyone would be an upgrade.
The move means that someone will have to come off the 25-man roster and the 40-man roster. The most likely scenario for both roster issues will come with Josh Rodriguez, the 2010 Rule 5 pick. Rodriguez would fill the same spot that Wood will now be taking, which makes it likely that the Pirates waive him. It’s still possible that the Pirates could retain him, even if they did waive him, although he would have to clear waivers and a deal would have to be reached with Cleveland.
