The Pittsburgh Pirates have added right-handed reliever Juan Cruz to the restricted list so that he can return home to the Dominican Republic and attend to some personal business. As a corresponding move, they selected Doug Slaten from Indianapolis, purchasing his contract and adding him to the 25 and 40-man roster.
The Pirates already had an open spot on the 40-man, and Cruz opened up a spot on the 25-man roster. Slaten had an opt out clause in his contract that would allow him to become a free agent if he wasn’t added to the roster by June 1st. The left-hander has been dominating Triple-A, with a 0.36 ERA in 25.1 innings. He gave up a solo homer in his first appearance of the year, then pitched 24 straight shutout innings.
