This is a minor bit of news that very possibly will turn out to be of no consequence, but it still annoys me. The Pirates have lost lefty reliever Wilfredo Ledezma on waivers. Ledezma hasn't had anyone's idea of a great career, true. But his velocity has increased in the past few years, and he dominated in Class AAA last year, striking out 50 batters in 38.1 innings. He also showed promise in a brief stint in the majors - his ERA was very high, at 6.86, but he struck out more than a batter per inning, suggesting that his performance was better than his ERA suggested.
↵Ledezma is about to turn 30, so he isn't young. But relievers are a strange breed, and it isn't that uncommon for them to figure out how to pitch and suddenly be very productive late in their careers. Ledezma could very well go back to being AAA fodder, but last year suggested he's exactly the sort of pitcher who can have a strange late-career peak. And on top of that, the Pirates don't have a lot of good lefty relief options, and it isn't like their 40-man roster was so loaded they couldn't possibly keep Ledezma. It might turn out not to mean anything, but losing Ledezma was pointless.