Right-handed pitcher Ryan Reid has been called up by the Pirates and will join the team in Atlanta, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick.
Reid, 28, is in his first season in Pittsburgh’s system after being added as a minor league free agent in November. He has never pitched in the Major Leagues but has pitched 34.2 relief innings for Triple-A Indianapolis this season with a 0.52 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 31 strikeouts and nine walks. The successful results follow a decent season for the Durham Bulls in 2012, Reid’s first full Triple-A season, in which he averaged one strikeout per inning.
A change to the 40-man roster will have to be made in order to add Reid. While we don’t know yet what that transaction will be, perhaps infielder John McDonald or Mike Zagurski will be designated for assignment. Another possibility is that Jeanmar Gomez is placed on the 60-day disabled list, depending on the severity of the elbow tightness he suffered in Sunday’s game. Again, any determination of Gomez’s true injury status is premature, but he was not seen in the Pirates clubhouse following the game.
UPDATE: 11:19 PM, ET — Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com tweeted that Jared Hughes’ agents say Hughes will also be added to the Pirates.
Jared Hughes’ agents say he has been promoted by #Pirates. Ryan Reid also heading to PIT, per @jcrasnick. Nothing official yet, however.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 3, 2013
Hughes has appeared in 13 games for the Pirates with 13 strikeouts and a 4.61 ERA. The right-hander has also made 11 appearances for Indianapolis, throwing 10 strikeouts and owning a 0.69 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Unlike Reid, Hughes is already on the team’s 40-man roster.
The additions of Reid and Hughes give the Pirates bullpen some relief entering the final three games of a 16-games-in-16-days stretch. The relievers pitched 10 shutout innings Sunday following Gomez’s removal and three innings Saturday. More than one reliever was not expected to pitch Sunday unless an “emergency situation” arose. The possible fatigued arms:
- Bryan Morris pitched in two of the three games of the Reds series.
- Justin Wilson pitched one inning Saturday and two innings Sunday.
- Vin Mazzaro threw a 15-pitch inning Saturday and 49 pitches over three innings Sunday.
