The Pittsburgh Pirates have completed the Matt Diaz trade, acquiring right handed pitcher Eliecer Cardenas from the Atlanta Braves as the player to be named later.
The 23-year-old Dominican native went 4-3 with seven saves and a 2.11 ERA in 45 minor league games this season, striking out 76 batters in 59.2 innings. Cardenas finished the season with Lynchburg in the Carolina League where he posted a 0.79 ERA in 56.2 innings, with an 11.9 K/9 and a 4.6 BB/9 ratio, along with a 1.06 WHIP. He made the jump to the US in 2009 after three years in the Dominican Summer League.
Cardenas was selected by the Braves last year in the AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft, taken from the Minnesota Twins. He profiles more as an organizational pitcher, although the high strikeout rates are definitely intriguing.
