The Pirates introduced that infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and right-hander Hunter Stratton has been reinstated from the 15-day injured record. They opened one roster spot yesterday by putting outfielder Bryan Reynolds on the bereavement record and opened one other immediately by designating left-hander Josh Fleming for task.
Fleming, 28, signed with the Bucs within the offseason and now will get the DFA therapy for the second time this yr. The primary time resulted in him clearing waivers and accepting an outright task, which finally led to his second stint within the large leagues this yr.
He has logged 31 1/3 innings for the Pirates between these two stints, permitting 4.02 earned runs per 9. His 54.3% floor ball charge is kind of sturdy however each his 12.3% strikeout charge and 10.1% stroll are subpar.
Fleming is out of choices and may’t be despatched all the way down to the minors with out first being uncovered to waivers. He was non-tendered by the Rays on the finish of final yr and signed a take care of the Bucs that pays him $850K within the majors and $240K within the minors. As a participant with greater than three years of main league service time, he has the precise to reject outright assignments in favor of free company. However since he’s south of the five-year service mark, doing so means forfeiting no matter cash he’s nonetheless owed. That’s seemingly why he accepted his task the final time Pittsburgh despatched him by waivers and why he might accomplish that once more.
His numbers this yr are pretty just like his time with Tampa. General, he has a 4.77 ERA in 254 2/3 innings. He has struck out simply 14.6% of batters confronted however has stored walks all the way down to a 7.6% clip and stored balls in play on the bottom at a 58.4% charge.
Maybe some membership will probably be inquisitive about buying Fleming within the coming days. With the commerce deadline on Tuesday, some groups will probably be opening holes on their rosters by way of commerce and may have to fill some innings. Fleming could possibly be retained by way of arbitration for 3 extra years after this one however, as talked about, he cleared waivers as soon as already this yr.
