The Pittsburgh Pirates have called up third baseman Pedro Alvarez, and have placed Alex Presley on the 15-day disabled list, the team announced this morning. Alvarez was on a hot streak in AAA, with a .472/.548/.806 line in 36 at-bats in his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Presley injured his thumb, and could be out for a week, which called for the trip to the disabled list.
Because the Pirates had Alvarez on optional assignment for less than 20 days, he doesn’t use his third option year. That means he will have one option remaining, assuming he doesn’t get optioned to the minors again this year.
As for Presley, with Jose Tabata suffering a setback, and Presley now going to the disabled list, the Pirates have run in to a need for outfield help. We could be hearing more talk about them going for a bat in the coming weeks, or we might even hear word of John Bowker or Gorkys Hernandez possibly getting the call to the majors.
The 25-man roster and the 40-man roster pages have both been updated with the moves.
