The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed infielder Jake Elmore from the Cincinnati Reds. With the move, the 40-man roster now stands at 36 spots full.
Elmore has played parts of the last three seasons in the majors, spending 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2013 with the Houston Astros and 2014 with the Reds. In 87 games, the 27-year-old has a .221/.288/.291 slash line. Elmore still has one option left, so if he doesn’t make the Pirates out of Spring Training, he could be an infield depth option.
His main position is second base, but he can also play shortstop and outfield. Elmore has actually played more shortstop in the majors than any other position, but his minor league career heavily favorites second base. He has actually played all nine positions at some point in both the majors and minors. Elmore was drafted twice, signing with the Diamondbacks as a 34th round draft pick in 2008. In 666 minor league games, he has .290/.385/.388 slash line, though those numbers are skewed a bit by spending three years in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
At 5’9″, he doesn’t hit for much power, but has more walks than strikeouts during his minor league time and he can steal some bases. Twice, Baseball America has named him as the player with the best strike zone judgement. Once in 2010 for the entire Diamondbacks organization and in 2012 as the best in the Pacific Coast League.
