The New York Yankees have claimed right-handed pitcher Jake Barrett from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 27-year-old Barrett was claimed by the Pirates on March 1st, coming over from the San Francisco Giants. His Spring Training time was limited, as there was some down time due to being designated for assignment prior to being claimed by the Pirates. The Pirates DFA’d Barrett on March 28th to make room on the 40-man roster when they added Francisco Liriano, Melky Cabrera and JB Shuck. The Pirates also lost righty Aaron Slegers, who was DFA’d that same day. He was claimed by the Tampa Bay Rays, who then acquired him for cash considerations.
Barrett pitched in the majors for the Arizona Diamondbacks each of the last three seasons, seeing his most success as a rookie in 2016. He had an impressive showing in Triple-A last year by posting a 2.87 ERA in 53.1 innings at hitter-friendly Reno, but he struggled in his limited big league time.
