The Pirates' offseason of waiver claims continued Thursday, when the club picked up Shane Carle, a right-handed pitcher, from the Rockies.
Carle, 26, spent most of this past season at Triple-A Albuquerque and he only has four innings of major league experience. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated right-handed reliever Johnny Barbato for assignment.
Carle, a 10th-round pick of the Pirates in 2010, had a 5.37 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 36 Triple-A games, three of which were starts. He made his major league debut for the Rockies in April, when he pitched one scoreless inning against the Giants.
However, he was sent back down and was not recalled again until September. Carle allowed three earned runs in two innings against the Giants on Sept. 6 and pitched one scoreless inning against the Diamondbacks eight days later.
Carle has gone 27-29 with two saves, three complete games, two shutouts, a 4.10 ERA and 367 strikeouts in 131 appearances (76 starts) during his minor league career.
The Pirates have claimed Nik Turley, Sam Moll and Engelb Vielma off waivers this offseason, but have yet to add via free agency. An industry source told DKPittsburghSports.com at the Winter Meetings that the Pirates were expressing interest in a number of free-agent relievers, but did not seem eager to make a move.
Their bullpen is in need of additional arms, though. They selected Jordan Milbrath, a right-handed reliver, in the Rule 5 Draft, but Milbrath has yet to pitch in the major leagues.
Felipe Rivero, George Kontos and Daniel Hudson are currently the only bullpen arms that are sure to be on the major league roster, with Edgar Santana, Dovydas Neverauskas, A.J. Schugel and Jack Leathersich expected to compete for roster spots.
Additionally, Neal Huntington told reporters at the Winter Meetings that a young starting pitcher such as Steven Brault or Tyler Glasnow could begin the season in the bullpen. Turley, a left-hander, could also be used as a reliever, although he excelled in four starts in the Venezuela Winter League.
Barbato, 25, appeared in 25 games for the Pirates in 2017, with a 4.08 ERA in 28 2/3 innings.
