The New York Mets announced on Thursday afternoon that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Edwin Uceta from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Uceta was picked up by the Pirates off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. He was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Before he could appear in a game, he was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Tuesday to make roster space for catcher Tyler Heineman, who was replacing an injured Austin Hedges.
Not even four full days after the announcement of his acquisition, the 25-year-old right-hander is now off to the New York Mets.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
On another note. Blake Sabol hit his first career Home Run today. A shot to CF.
You mean the guy batting .083 with -2 WAR? I agree they should have held onto the guy, but let’s not pretend he’s lighting the world on fire.
No. I mean the guy that after today has a .722 OPS, and is hitting .222.
I’m still trying to understand how two organizations can have such a different read on a young guy’s potential.
I think it’s more of an issue of need as opposed to talent evaluation. Sabol is a catcher and outfielder, two spots the Pirates have several options ahead of him on the depth chart to sort through whereas the Giants need both. I don’t necessarily think the Pirates front office is down or soured on his abilities necessarily.
I believe we made a mistake here, Should have kept Sabol over several others, Vilade
Duh
The end of an era.
We hardly got to know you, Uceta.