MLB Standings Update: Two Former Pirates Find Way To Contending Teams

As the Pirates' season closes with a whimper, the Pirates have managed to find homes for two of their players on the rosters of contending teams. As the San Francisco Giants fade from the picture, it's looking more likely that the National League won't feature any pennant races at all, with the Phillies, Braves and Brewers virtually guaranteed playoff spots at this point and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have a 5.5-game lead on the Giants in the NL West, having a big role on the remaining one.

Two Pirates outfielders, Matt Diaz (Braves) and John Bowker (Phillies), are now with two of those four teams. It's ironic that two guys who couldn't help the Pirates as the Bucs themselves faded from contention managed to sneak onto the rosters of two of the NL's best teams, but there you go. The Pirates won't get much for their troubles - just some salary relief in Diaz's case and perhaps a player or two to be named later. But it's nice to see two former Bucs get a chance to try to play their way into a World Series.

Here are the SB Nation blogs associated with the four likely NL playoff teams:

Phillies (85-46): The Good Phight
Braves (79-55): Talking Chop
Brewers (81-55): Brew Crew Ball
Diamondbacks (77-59): AZ Snakepit