Pittsburgh Pirates Claim Pitcher Wirfin Obispo From Atlanta Braves
By Matt Shetler
After Sunday’s trade of reliever Bryan Morris to the Miami Marlins, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t waste much time in adding another reliever to the system.
The Pirates announced Sunday that they claimed reliever Wirfin Obispo off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Braves designated Obispo for assignment yesterday and Pirates’ claim comes hours after their trade of Morris, so Obispo should help them replenish their relief depth.
While the Pirates made out pretty well in the Morris trade, it is a bit of a head scratcher that they are scrambling for relief help all of the sudden after designating an effective arm like Vin Mazzaro for assignment last week.
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Obispo, 29, had pitched 19.1 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett this season, posting a 4.66 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9.
The hard-throwing righty was added to the Braves 40-man roster following a 2013 season in which he posted a 3.53 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings.
He also pitched in parts of four seasons in Japan from 2007 through 2011 but to date has never cracked a major league roster.
Obispo began the year by not allowing a run in each of his first seven appearances and led all International League pitchers with 54 appearances last season while going 2-4 with nine saves. He also held International League hitters to a .204 batting average against, including a .188 average vs. left-handed hitters.
To take Morris’ spot on the active roster the Pirates promoted reliever Casey Sadler from Triple-A Indianapolis.