By JOHN PERROTTO
PITTSBURGH — Whether Anthony Claggett will make his Pirates’ debut before the season ends next week is to be determined.
The right-handed reliever, claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees on Thursday, reported to the Pirates’ Florida Instructional League camp in Bradenton on Friday.
Claggett has not pitched since Sept. 12, when he appeared for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the International League Championship Series. The Pirates want to have him pitch at least once in an FIL game before deciding if he will join the major-league club.
“He has been down for a couple of weeks, and we don’t have a pressing need to add another pitcher, so we’ll see,” General Manager Neal Huntington said Friday night before the Pirates hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series at PNC Park.
If Claggett does join the Pirates, it likely would be Tuesday when they begin a season-ending seven-game road trip at Chicago.
Claggett, 25, made his major-league debut with the Yankees last month and gave up
10 runs in 22/3 innings in two games for a 33.75 ERA. At Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year, he was 7-7 with a
3.07 ERA in 39 games, five starts.
Claggett is primarily a sinker/slider pitcher and was ranked as the Yankees’ 26th-best prospect by Baseball America coming into this season.
“He has a history of striking people out and keeping the ball on the ground, which are two attributes we really like in pitchers,” Huntington said.
The Pirates moved right-hander Jose Ascanio from the
15-day disabled list to the
60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Claggett. Ascanio was supposed to be activated this weekend but the Pirates felt he had not sufficiently recovered from the shoulder tendinitis that forced him to the DL on Aug. 12 after watching him pitch in a simulated game Tuesday.
Ascanio was acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade on July 30, then made one start for Class AAA Indianapolis and two relief appearances with the Pirates before getting injured.
“It’s disappointing for Jose because he’s worked really hard, and we were looking forward to getting a look at him before the season ended,” Pirates manager John Russell said.
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Minors update: The Pirates named third baseman Pedro Alvarez as their Minor League Player of the Year and left-hander Rudy Owens as their Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Alvarez, 22, hit a combined .288 with 27 home runs and
95 RBIs in 126 games with high Class A Lynchburg and Class AA Altoona in his first professional season and also had
32 doubles and 80 runs scored.
“Pedro performed up to the lofty expectations placed upon him, showing a quality combination of power and patience plus improving defense,” Pirates Player Development Director Kyle Stark said.
Owens, 21, was a combined 11-2 with a 2.10 ERA in
25 starts with low Class A West Virginia and Lynchburg, striking out 113 in
124 innings.
“Rudy made significant strides this year, showing consistent fastball command and improving secondary pitches,” Stark said.
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Injury update: Shortstop Ronny Cedeno was out of the lineup for a second straight game because of tightness in both hamstrings. He likely won’t return until at least Sunday and could miss the entire series.
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Doumit update: Catcher Ryan Doumit was presented with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association’s Heart and Hustle Award in a pre-game ceremony. The award is presented annually and was created to recognize one player from each major-league team who demonstrates a passion for baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game
Of the 30 winners from each team, one will be chosen as the overall Heart and Hustle winner as voted on by the
3,000-plus members of the MLBPAA.
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Up next: Paul Maholm (8-9, 4.46) is scheduled to start for the Pirates against the Dodgers’ Randy Wolf (11-6, 3.24) at
7:05 tonight in a matchup of left-handers.
