Less than a day after acquiring utility infielder Drew Sutton from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations, the Pittsburgh Pirates shipped him off to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to named later. Sutton is expected to be active for the Rays on Monday night.
The Pirates had Sutton ticketed for the minor leagues. In 178 Major League plate appearances, Sutton was hitting .258/.322/.403. In 37 games with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate, Gwinnett, Sutton had a slash line of .267/.373/.363 this year.
Sutton played in 31 games for the Red Sox last season, hitting .315 during that stretch. He has also spent time with the Reds and Indians.
Pittsburgh's need of a utility infielder was not significant just 11 days after the team acquired Jeff Larish from Boston. Larish, 29, is a light-hitting corner infielder who has not seen any Major League playing time since 2010.
The Pirates open a three game series against the New York Mets on Monday.
For more on the Pirates, there's Bucs Dugout.