The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded minor league left-handed pitcher Jayson Aquino to the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. Aquino was picked up from the Toronto Blue Jays on May 10th in a deal that also involved cash considerations. He was designated for assignment on July 22nd, when the Pirates added Pedro Florimon to the 40-man roster.
Aquino is 22 years old and he’s in his sixth season of pro ball. He made 13 starts for Bradenton, posting a 3.78 ERA in 78.2 innings, with a .252 BAA and a 19:50 BB/SO ratio. We posted a very throughout report on him shortly after he joined the system, with input from multiple scouts and coaches. He was sitting 89-93 MPH that day and scouts said he had a chance to be a lefty reliever in the majors. The main problem is that he had already used two options, so if he remained with the team, he would have needed to stick in the majors by Opening Day in 2017.