12/11/14

Pirates at the Winter Meetings

Now that the Winter Meetings are over, he is a recap of the Pirates' activity. During these past four days, the Pirates made three additions. The first move that was made was on Monday when they claimed pitcher Josh Lindblom off waivers from the Oakland Athletics. Based on Lindblom's career statistics, he appears to be another Jeanmar Gomez. Lindblom has mainly been used as a relief pitcher, but he has made six starts in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The only game he pitched in for the Athletics in the 2014 season, he pitched 4.2 innings while giving up two runs on five hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. It will be interesting to see what the Pirates will do with him during spring training. The second move the Pirates made was on Tuesday when they signed pitcher Francisco Liriano to a three-year contract. In my opinion, this was the Pirates' best move. Liriano had a very solid season with the Pirates in 2013, as he compiled a record of (16-8) with a 3.02 ERA. He struggled early in the 2014 season, but he rebounded nicely after a brief stint on the disabled list. Even though he finished the 2014 campaign with a (7-10) record, his 3.38 ERA was very impressive. The Francisco Liriano signing likely sets up the Pirates rotation for the 2015 season. The third and final move the Pirates made was on Wednesday when they acquired pitcher Antonio Bastardo from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitching prospect Joely Rodriguez. Bastardo was a reliable reliever with the Phillies. His best season was the 2011 season where he compiled a record of (6-1) with a 2.64 ERA and eight saves in 64 games. This was a key addition for the Pirates, as they needed to fill the hole that was made when Justin Wilson was dealt to the Yankees. These were very interesting moves and it will be interesting to see how these moves will work out in spring training and the 2015 season.