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Monthly Archives: February, 2011

Back To His Future?

Waiting for the Caribbean Series to begin (Wednesday) and the Australian League to resume their playoffs (Friday)....

Two former Pirate pitchers have signed minor league contracts with other clubs:  Ty Taubenheim has signed with the Rangers, and Virgil Vasquez has signed with the Angels.

Joe Beimel was signed to a minor league contract with the Pirates over the weekend.  The Pennsylvania native will turn 34 in April.  He has been in the Pirates' organization before, beginning when he was drafted in the 18th round of the 1998 draft by the Pirates.  Beimel spent 6 seasons in the Pirates' organization, moving quickly up through the minors until he reached the major leagues in 2001.  He pitched for the Pirates in 2001 - 03, mostly in relief, earning a 10-19 record with a 5.00 ERA.  The Pirates released him before the season started in 2004, and he pitched in several organizations over the next 7 seasons:  Twins, Rays, Dodgers (3 seasons), Nationals, and Rockies.  The southpaw was traded to the Rockies at the trading deadline in 2009.  He made 26 relief appearances for the Rockies over the rest of that season, allowing 7 runs on 19 hits over 15.2 innings.  Beimel pitched in 2 games for AAA Colorado Springs in 2010, but spent the rest of the season with the Rockies.  In 71 appearances (45 innings), he allowed 17 earned runs (3.40 ERA) on 46 hits with 15 walks and 21 strikeouts.  With the minor league contract, Beimel has been invited to the major league camp for spring training, but the Pirates consider him to be a strong candidate to provide a veteran lefty presence in their bullpen.  

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