The Pirates’ signings of pitcher Erik Bedard and outfielder Nate McLouth are now official, and the Bucs have dropped catcher Jason Jaramillo and infielder Pedro Ciriaco to make room for Bedard and McLouth on the 40-man roster.
We’ve already written about Bedard and McLouth elsewhere in this storystream. Jaramillo has been the Pirates’ backup catcher at times, but is now mostly Class AAA fodder after last season’s acquisition of Michael McKenry (who is now the likely backup to Rod Barajas). Ciriaco managed to stay on the Pirates’ active roster for long stretches of last season even though he almost never saw the field; he’s very fast and has a good glove, but he really can’t hit at all. We’ll see whether these players slip through waivers. They would be nice to have at Class AAA Indianapolis, but if they’re not there, it’s no big deal.
In other news, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that, as part of July’s deal for Ryan Ludwick, the Pirates will send a player to be named later to the Padres following this week’s Rule 5 draft. That might mean the Padres want a minor leaguer like Brett Lorin or Diego Moreno who the Pirates left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft.
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