The Pirates have selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny from Triple-A Indianapolis, the team has announced. To make room on the 26-man roster, they have optioned right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramirez to Triple-A. In addition, to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, left-hander Angel Perdomo has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Zastryzny, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Bucs in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster. He’s been on and off the roster since then, having twice landed on the injured list, once due to discomfort in his throwing elbow and another due to forearm inflammation. He made 18 appearances around those trips to the injured list with a 5.29 earned run average and was designated for assignment at the end of his second IL stint.
He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. He has thrown 16 1/3 innings at that level this year with a 4.41 ERA but better peripherals. He has struck out 23.9% of opponents while issuing walks at a tiny 1.5% rate and keeping the ball on the ground at a 45.8% clip, leading to a 2.80 FIP at that level. That will get him another shot on the big league roster on a non-competitive Pirates club. He has between one and two years of service time, meaning he’s yet to reach arbitration and can be cheaply retained by the Bucs for future seasons, but he’s out of options and will need to stay on the active roster or else be removed from the 40-man again.
Perdomo, 29, landed on the injured list just a few days ago due to left elbow discomfort. The club hasn’t released any specifics on his condition but it seems it’s serious enough that they don’t expect him back this season, as this transfer eliminates any chance of him returning before the middle of October. He posted a 3.72 ERA in 29 innings this year, striking out 37.6% of hitters while walking 9.4%. Like Zastryzny, he has less than two years of service time and can be cheaply retained for next year if the Bucs so choose, but he’s also out of options.
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