The Pittsburgh Pirates have released infielder Shelby Ford, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. It was only two years ago that Ford was seen as the second baseman of the future in Pittsburgh, coming off a strong .285/.338/.458 line in 319 at-bats in Altoona. He struggled in 2009 in his jump to AAA, with a .188/.240/.279 line in 298 at-bats, then continued his struggles in his return to Altoona. For the last two years, he’s been more of an organizational guy at the top three levels.
He did have a .304/.360/.652 line in 23 at-bats in AAA this year, although that was the result of a 5-for-8 performance in his first two games. After that, he went 2-for-15 at the plate with one walk and five strikeouts.
