A few transactions of note today in the minor league system, along with some good new for the Pittsburgh Pirates from down at Pirate City.
Mitch Keller threw a 25-pitch bullpen down at Pirate City today. It was the first time he has thrown since being placed on the disabled list back in late March due to back tightness. Reports from the session said it went well and Keller looked good on the mound. The next step will be seeing how the back feels tomorrow and then going from there. He hasn’t pitched in a game since May 16th when he left after one inning.
Barrett Barnes was placed on the disabled list due to a strained right hamstring suffered in Sunday’s game while running down to first base. Barnes missed the first six weeks of the season with a hamstring injury, so they will likely be cautious with his return.
Indianapolis had to shuffle the roster a bit, adding Phil Gosselin after he was optioned yesterday. They also added Eury Perez and Justin Maffei to help with the outfield duties while Barnes is on the DL. Anderson Feliz went to Altoona to help with their short-handed infield after Kevin Kramer suffered a fractured right hand. He is out 4-6 weeks.
In West Virginia, Adrian Valerio returned from his facial injury he suffered after a ball deflected off a runner and hit him just under the left eye. He missed ten days total. Victor Fernandez returned with him. He has been out since early April with a hamstring injury, although he spent a lot of time playing games in Extended Spring Training, so he hasn’t been hurt the entire time. Sandy Santos and Andrew Walker were assigned to Morgantown to make room.
