Donnelly, on joining Pirates: 'A good fit'
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New Pirates pitcher Brendan Donnelly had a 1.78 ERA with the Marlins last season.
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The Pirates yesterday completed the contract of free-agent reliever Brendan Donnelly and, to clear space on the full 40-man roster, traded Brian Bixler to the Cleveland Indians for Jesus Brito in an exchange of minor-league infield prospects.
On deck: Octavio Dotel.
The addition of Donnelly raised the key free-agent bullpen signings to three, including Javier Lopez and D.J. Carrasco, to join the only two internal locks, Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek. Still missing from that list is Dotel, the prospective closer, even though the team and player have been close to reaching agreement for more than a week. But one source said last night that talks have not taken a step backward and reiterated that only "details" remain.
Once Dotel is done, it appears likely that the core of the 2010 Pirates will be set.
Donnelly, a 38-year-old right-hander with a 3.02 career ERA and two World Series rings, arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday to pass a physical and sign his one-year contract: $1.35 million in salary, plus as much as $1.65 million in performance bonuses based on appearances.
In 2007, Donnelly had Tommy John elbow surgery, then struggled the following year. The Texas Rangers cut him out of spring training last year but, after a month of being idle, he joined the Houston Astros' Class AAA Round Rock affiliate and had a 1.75 ERA in 24 appearances.
"I'd spent about a month at home waiting for a call," Donnelly said yesterday. "I was cutting my grass, doing the landscaping, driving my wife crazy. Finally, I just said to my agent, 'I'll go to the minors. Get me somewhere.' After that, everything just clicked."
Florida signed him in early July, and he was just as good, with a 1.78 ERA in 30 appearances while in a setup role for the 87-win Marlins.
The recovery from the surgery, Donnelly said, allowed him to expand his repertoire.
"Honestly, I feel like I've just re-learned how to pitch, how to get the very best out of myself," Donnelly said. "I wish that had happened before age 38, but I'll take it."
Neal Huntington, the Pirates' general manager, said his scouts regularly clocked Donnelly's fastball at 92-93 mph -- an uptick over recent years -- and that he was effective against batters from both sides of the plate, with a .262 opponents' batting average against righties, .220 against lefties.
Huntington said Donnelly will be a candidate for the Pirates' setup role.
"We saw Brendan pitching down the stretch for Florida in meaningful games, tough situations," Huntington said.
First Published January 18, 2010 11:29 pm
