Pirates Make Flurry of Moves

As the Pittsburgh Pirates get ready to go for the sweep against the Detroit Tigers they made a flurry of moves.

First they optioned Jordy Mercer back down to AAA. In five games with the Pirates Mercer hit .111 with three strikeouts.

It was getting clear that the Pirates were not going to use Mercer as Josh Harrison has been playing shortstop when Clint Barmes wasn’t occupying the position. Being sent back down will give Mercer a chance to play everyday and get constant at bats.

Secondly, they called up Bryan Morris. Morris remains the best option for an impact player from the Jason Bay trade. The 23 year old Morris can get his fastball up to the mid 90s and has two good breaking pitches to go with it. So far this year in AAA Morris has appeared in 23 games with 1-2 record, five saves and a 2.28 earned run average.

Other moves the Pirates made was claiming Drew Sutton off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.  Sutton was acquired earlier in the year by the Pirates in a trade with the Atlanta Braves.

Then they traded Sutton to the Rays for cash considerations. With the Rays Sutton played in 18 games hitting .271 with six runs batted in.

To make room on the 40 man roster for Sutton the Pirates moved Charlie Morton to the 60 day disabled list.

It was also announce before first pitch that Jeff Karstens will return to the starting rotation. This brings to question if the Pirates will go to a six man rotation or is someone heading to the bullpen.