The Pirates will sign righty reliever Jason Grilli, who had had 43 strikeouts in 32.2 innings with the Phillies’ Class AAA affiliate in Lehigh Valley, and he’ll replace Chris Leroux on the 25-man roster.
This move is about acquiring depth. Grilli isn’t obviously an immediate upgrade on Leroux, even if his Class AAA stats are really good. But Leroux can be optioned back to Indianapolis without the Pirates risking losing him, so next time there’s an injury, he’ll come back up. Grilli would therefore add quality depth to the organization without costing the Pirates anything.
After he signs, then, the Pirates’ bullpen would consist of Joel Hanrahan, Jose Veras, Chris Resop, Daniel McCutchen and Grilli from the right-handed side, and Joe Beimel and Tony Watson from the left-handed side. The Bucs will probably look to upgrade on their lefties in the trade market in the next two weeks.
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