The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed right-handed pitcher Josh Lindblom from the Oakland Athletics, and have outrighted right-handed pitcher Angel Sanchez off the 40-man roster to Indianapolis. The 40-man roster was at 39 before the move, so the decision to outright Sanchez was interesting. That could be a move designed to select a player in the Rule 5 draft later in the week.
Lindblom has 136.2 innings in the majors, mostly as a reliever. He’s got a career 3.82 ERA and a 4.47 xFIP. He only appeared in 4.2 innings last year with Oakland, making a spot start. He was a starter with the Rangers for a brief time in 2013. His numbers were much better in 2011-12 when he was strictly a reliever. He was also averaging 92 MPH with his fastball at that time, compared to 90 MPH the last two years when he was mostly starting. Lindblom mixes in a slider, curve, and a changeup, and has leaned on the changeup more heavily in the last two seasons.
Lindblom is out of options, which means he has to make the active roster out of Spring Training or be passed through waivers. My guess is that the Pirates claimed him to try and sneak him through waivers later in the off-season or in Spring Training. They’re in a spot right now where they only have to hope that eight other teams will pass on him in order to keep him in their system.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
I’m surprised we let Sanchez go – he was at least young enough to offer some potential for improvement…..we have 4-5 guys on the 40 man that I would have let go before Sanchez…..I don’t much about Lindblom – it appears our strategy is to grab as many rehab projects as possible, in the hope we may hit on just one of them….
Would of been nice to of added Brandon Moss for a bag of donuts like the Tribe gave up. We could of found a spot for a guy who can hit 25-30 homers.
I like this move. This could be a real bargain should he hang on to his roster spot. Had success and has looked pretty good in some real hitters leagues in the past. Rushed into his first season of triple a but has held on well and settled down since.
I see the Indians just DfAd Bryan Price so expect NH To pick up him and waive Lindblom in 3,2……,
He has also hit well in the past, but I am sure the Pirates will cure that….
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“Sorry, but it just frustrates me on how bad our pitchers hit.”
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without looking… i’m going to guess he’s 6’3″ with a GB% of about 43%.
dang. one inch off and way off on the GBs.
He has struggled to prevent HRs for sure
Looks like we found our 10th starter.