Troy Pfaff
Troy Pfaff

Former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Xavier Paul has officially cleared waivers and was released by the team. Paul, 26, was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the season, and appeared in 121 games with the Pirates.

The former fourth-round pick hit .254 with two home runs and 20 RBI in 232 at bats. He struck out 57 times while taking just 13 walks, contributing to his poor .293 OBP. He stole 16 bases and was caught six times.

The team removed Paul from the 40-man rosters a few days ago to protect more prospects from the Rule 5 draft, but the team couldn’t outright him to the minors due to his three-plus years of major league service.

General Manager Neal Huntington has expressed interest in bringing Paul back as a bench player, but Paul can’t be re-signed by the Pirates until mid-March. He will more than likely sign elsewhere.

According to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are one of about six teams interested in starting pitcher Aaron Cook, who has spent all of his 10 seasons with the Colorado Rockies.

From Pirates Prospects:

 Cook has a career 4.53 ERA in over 1300 innings pitched in the majors.  He’s never been a guy who can strike out batters, with a career 3.8 K/9 ratio, including a 4.5 K/9 ratio in 2011. Cook missed 60 games in 2011 with a broken finger.  Cook’s xFIP over the last three years hasn’t been that much worse than Paul Maholm’s. Personally, I’d have a lot of players on my wish list before I got down to Cook.

Cook went 6-8 in 2010 and 3-10 in 2011, but was an All-Star in 2008 with a 3.96 ERA, 1.344 WHIP and 16-9 record.

 

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