Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
It was three days later than I wanted it to happen, but the Pittsburgh Pirates did get around to designating pitcher Jonathan Sanchez for assignment on Tuesday.
It was bad enough having to put up with Sanchez when he was pitching dreadfully and not making it past the fifth inning in any of his four starts, but then he decided he wanted to be a headhunter too. Instead of getting rid of him right away though, manager Clint Hurdle gave him another chance by sending him to the bullpen. That experiment lasted all of one game as he pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing four hits and two earned runs.
Now the Pirates will have ten days to see if they can find a team foolish enough to trade for a guy that has an earned run average of 11.85 and needs to serve a six game suspension. Somehow I don’t see teams lining up to deal for the lefty. He will eventually be set free and if we see him in the majors again I’ll be surprised.
To fill the roster spot vacated by Sanchez, the Pirates brought up right-hander Bryan Morris. He was up earlier in the year and made one appearance where he pitched three scoreless innings. He did walk three batters which probably concerned management, but hopefully the 26 year old will exhibit better control this time around.
All in all it is a positive day for the Pirates. The Sanchez move is addition by subtraction and needed to happen. Now the team won’t have to worry about his suspension either.
Darren Pare is a Pittsburgh Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at dpare71, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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