The Pittsburgh Pirates have recalled right-handed pitcher Rob Scahill and have designated Stolmy Pimentel and Pedro Florimon for assignment. They also made the following disabled list moves official to set the 25-man roster.
Jaff Decker – Placed on the 15 day DL (retroactive to March 30) with a left calf strain.
Brandon Cumpton – Placed on the 15 day DL (retroactive to March 27), recovering from right elbow surgery.
Chris Stewart – Placed on the 15 day DL (retroactive to March 27) with a right hamstring strain.
Justin Sellers – Placed on the 15 day DL (retroactive to March 27) with left heel pain.
Charlie Morton – Placed on the 15 day DL, recovering from right hip surgery.
Of that group, Cumpton will be out for the year and can eventually go on the 60-day disabled list to create a 40-man roster spot. However, that’s not needed at the moment, since Pimentel and Florimon being DFAed will open up two spots.
The entire situation surrounding those two was interesting. It seems like another shoe is waiting to drop here. The Pirates sent Scahill down last week, showing he wasn’t in the mix for the final bullpen spot. The battle for that final spot got a bit more complicated yesterday when Charlie Morton was sent to the disabled list and Vance Worley made the rotation.
Prior to that move, it looked like Jared Hughes and Stolmy Pimentel were battling for one spot, with Arquimedes Caminero getting another spot. When Worley moved to the rotation, it meant there were two bullpen spots, making the decision easier. But the Pirates announced their bullpen, minus Pimentel, with one spot remaining.
If the Pirates were looking for a normal long-term option for that spot, then John Holdzkom would have likely been the guy they would have gone with, rather than Scahill. The fact that they went with Scahill suggests that he might only up for a limited amount of time. This could be wrong, and they could just favor Scahill over Holdzkom, but that hasn’t been the impression I’ve had.
It’s possible Pimentel and Florimon could clear waivers. Pimentel has struggled this Spring, and didn’t show much in his limited time in the majors last year. Florimon cleared waivers in the AL at the end of the season last year, and went through almost all of the NL teams before the Pirates claimed him. Unless another team’s situation changed, he could fall through waivers again. Pimentel has some upside, but would need to go to a team that has no shot at contending this year, and can work with him throughout the season. Florimon’s main value is his defense at shortstop.
It would be great if the Pirates could slip both through waivers. That would give Pimentel an opportunity to work in the Indianapolis rotation, and would give the Pirates good infield depth with Florimon still in the organization.
As for the final bullpen spot, the Pirates now have two 40-man spots open, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have another move coming up, with Scahill serving as the short-term option until that happens. Then again, this could just be as simple as Scahill being next in line on the depth charts, and actually being ahead of Holdzkom.
