The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded Arquimedes Caminero to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later, per a team press release. There will be a corresponding move later today to add someone to the active roster.
Caminero had one of the best arms in the bullpen, and maybe even in the organization, but was struggling this year. He had a 3.51 ERA, but a 5.29 xFIP that showed he was getting lucky (mostly due to an 82.8% strand rate, which countered more walks and a .336 BABIP). Last year, he had a 3.62 ERA and a 3.77 xFIP. However, his strikeouts were down this year (23% to 17.1%), his walks were up (9.1% to 11.8%), and he was giving up a lot more hits.
Without knowing who will be added to the roster today, I would predict that this move was made to open a bullpen spot for Jeff Locke, with one of the prospects coming up to take Locke’s place in the rotation. I’d expect today’s move to be one that could add an extra bench player or bullpen arm until the Pirates need that additional starter. Ed Giles will have live coverage from PNC Park tonight, and we will have more updates throughout the day.
UPDATE 2:38 PM: Greg Johns of MLB.com reports that the Mariners claimed Caminero off revocable waivers, and the Pirates decided to work out a deal. They will get one or two prospects, according to Johns. If a deal wasn’t reached, the Pirates could have pulled Caminero back off waivers and kept him.
UPDATE 4:00 PM: Curtis Partch had his contract purchased from Indianapolis. The move will be temporary though, giving the Pirates an extra reliever for now. As expected, Jeff Locke will be moving to the bullpen, and will be available tomorrow.
Clint Hurdle said that Jeff Locke will move to the bullpen and be available starting tomorrow.
— Ed Giles (@InClementeWthr) August 6, 2016
Hurdle said that the starting pitcher for Tuesday is the infamous TBA. Vogelsong will go Wednesday, followed by Taillon on Thursday.
— Ed Giles (@InClementeWthr) August 6, 2016
The Pirates will need a starter next Tuesday. Meanwhile, Chad Kuhl was pulled from his start tonight, replaced by Kyle Lobstein. So it looks like he will be joining the rotation.
