Pirates prospect Starling Marte will begin a rehab assignment this weekend with the organization's Gulf Coast League affiliate in Bradenton. He should return to High-A Bradenton in about a week. Marte has been out since May after undergoing surgery for a broken hamate bone.
The Pirates have placed Zach Duke on the 15-day disabled list with "a strained flexor pronator muscle in the left elbow," retroactive to June 17th. He is expected to miss two additional starts. The Pirates have not yet determined a replacement for Duke's start on Saturday.
UPDATE (6/22/2010, 9:20 PM): Dejan reports that Holt's MCL is sprained but his meniscus is torn. He will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season.
The Pirates designated reliever Jack Taschner for assignment tonight, and optioned Jeff Clement to Triple-A Indianapolis. Taschner will be replaced by Brad Lincoln, but the second roster move will not be announced until Wednesday. There are unconfirmed rumblings that Jose Tabata will be the one promoted to Pittsburgh.
Top catching prospect Tony Sanchez left tonight's High-A Bradenton game after being hit in the head with a pitch. Dejan Kovacevic reports that the injury does not appear to be serious.
The Pirates traded minor league reliever Ronald Uviedo to the Blue Jays for starting pitcher Dana Eveland today. Eveland will join the Pirates rotation.
According to John Russell, Neil Walker will receive the majority of playing time at second base moving forward. This pushes Aki Iwamura to the bench. With Iwamura out of the lineup, Andrew McCutchen has moved back to the leadoff spot.
The Pirates placed Charlie Morton on the disabled list yesterday with a fatigued shoulder. Reliever Steven Jackson replaced him on the Pirates' roster.