The Pirates reacquried reliever Evan Meek, the Rule 5 pick they made from Tampa Bay, by giving an undisclosed cash payment to the Rays.
Meek has been assigned to Class AA Altoona.
Meek can bring the heat, touching 97 MPH at times.  He’ll work on his control and hopefully be a fixture in the Bucco’s bullpen in the future.
Because he [...]

As we all now know, Ryan Doumit has been placed on the 15-day DL because he fractured his left thumb.  To replace him on the roster, Raul Chavez has been recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis.
The 35-year-old Chavez has appeared in 169 career major league games, with his most recent stint in 2006 with the Baltimore Orioles.
Chavez [...]

Relief pitcher Marino Salas has been recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis by the Pirates.  The 26-year old is expected to be in uniform against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Salas was acquired by our Bucco’s from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Salomon Torres trade.  The other relief pitcher acquired in that trade, Kevin Roberts, is currently with Class AA Altoona.
Salas had a 0.77 ERA [...]

Pitcher John Van Benschoten was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis after the second game of the double-header Monday, the game in which he started.
Van Benschoten was called up to the big leagues on April 27 and assumed the long relief role in the bullpen. 
In his start, Van Benschoten struck out four and only allowed one run through the [...]

Pirates made a small splash today, optioning OF Nyjer Morgan to AAA Indy to make room for recently acquired OF Jason Michaels, who was recently waived by the Cleveland Indians.
Michaels is a career .270 hitter, with an impressive .351 OBP. The corner outfielder has struggled so far in 2008, however, collecting just 12 hits over [...]

It’s now negotiation time, as right-hander reliever Evan Meek has cleared waivers.
Meek was designated for assignment by the Pirates in order to make room for lefty reliever Sean Burnett.
The Pirates are currently in discussions with Tampa Bay to work out an agreement to keep Meek with the Pittsburgh organization, be it future cash considerations or a trade.
The 24-year [...]

So the Pirates find themselves in last place.  To date, they have played and looked like a last place team.  They lead the league in errors, the starting pitchers are giving up early runs, and the clutch hits are not coming when needed.
 
Let’s take a look at where we stand to date.  Ryan Doumit is [...]

With Evan Meek designated for assignment, the Pirates recalled Sean Burnett to fill the bullpen spot.  The Bucco’s now have seven left-handers on their pitching staff, most in the majors.
To replace Burnett on the Indy Indians roster, the Pirates made a trade with the Boston Red Sox.   Right-handed pitcher Matt Miller has been acquired for a player [...]

In an attempt to ease the pain in his surgically repaired left shoulder, outfielder Chris Duffy received a cortisone shot from Dr. Lewis Yocum, the same doctor that performed Duffy’s shoulder surgery.
Duffy is currently on the 15-day disabled list because of discomfort in that shoulder.
It’s being reported by the Post-Gazette that Duffy will not be allowed to throw [...]

The Pirates signed Craig Wilson to a minor-league contract Tuesday.  Wilson, a first baseman and outfielder, will be assigned to AAA Indy.  He last played in the Bucco organization back in 2006, where he was traded to the NY Yankees for pitcher Shawn Chacon. 
The 31-year old Wilson had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder last summer, which cost [...]