The Pittsburgh Pirates are having a busy day of transactions, including one minor league signing and three players being lost on waivers. The third player is right-handed pitcher Miguel Yajure, who was claimed by the San Francisco Giants.
Yajure was one of the four players acquired by the Pirates in the Jameson Taillon trade with the New York Yankees after the 2020 season. Roansy Contreras has emerged as the key piece in the deal, but he was rated about the same overall as Yajure (depending on the source) when the deal was made. They went in opposite directions, as Yajure has had trouble staying healthy in Pittsburgh.
Yajure had an 8.40 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 15 innings over three starts and one relief appearance for the Pirates in 2021. He saw more big league time in 2022, but the results got worse. He had an 8.88 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP in 24.1 innings, while mostly pitching in relief. He threw 102.1 innings in the minors (mostly with Triple-A Indianapolis) over the past two seasons. The 24-year-old Yajure has struggled this winter pitching in Venezuela as well.
The 40-man roster is now at 38 spots, with two spots open ahead of the Rule 5 draft.
