According to Matt Eddy from Baseball America, the Pittsburgh Pirates have released right-handed pitcher Casey Sadler. He had Tommy John surgery back in October, putting him out for the 2016 season. The Pirates dropped him from the 40-man roster shortly after his surgery, sending him outright to Indianapolis. Sadler last pitched in June before being shutdown, which eventually led to the surgery.
This shouldn’t be a surprise move because Sadler will reach minor league free agency at the end of the 2016 season, meaning he wasn’t going to pitch for them before becoming a free agent. This could mean that they will try to re-sign him to a two-year deal, which would then cover his first year of free agency. That usually happens with players who are injured and will miss the majority(or all) of the first season of the contract.
The #Pirates released RHP Casey Sadler on Dec. 30. He had Tommy John surgery in October, then outrighted off 40-man roster in November.
— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) January 9, 2016
Updated 2:10 pm: The Pirates have already re-signed Sadler according to Matt Gajtka at DK Pittsburgh Sports(subscription required). We got confirmation that it’s just for one year. Neal Huntington had this to say about bringing Sadler back:
“Our hope is to help him get healthy this year, have him remain with us going forward by re-signing him and look to have him help [in Pittsburgh] in 2017 and beyond.”
