Catching up on the daily roster moves, since I was on the road all day, and haven’t figured out a way to clone myself yet:
-To make room for Chase d’Arnaud on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated left handed pitcher Aaron Thompson for assignment. Thompson was acquired off of waivers in December from the Washington Nationals. The former first round pick got off to a good start in Altoona, before struggling and eventually getting moved to the bullpen. When I saw him he was working mostly in the high 80s, and didn’t look like a future starting candidate in the majors.
-The Pirates acquired right handed pitcher Steven Jackson from the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later. Jackson had been in the Pirates system for the past few years, and was an on-again, off-again reliever for the Pirates, riding the train last year between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
-A few lower level moves, the Pirates promoted Porfirio Lopez from West Virginia to Bradenton, and promoted left handed pitcher Justin Ennis from State College to West Virginia. They also activated infielder Chase Lyles from the West Virginia disabled list.
-State College placed left handed starter Joely Rodriguez on the disabled list, and added 18th round pick Josh Poytress and 23rd round pick Jordan Cooper to the roster.