Grilli officially joins Pirates' bullpen
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New Pirates pitcher Jason Grilli played for manager Clint Hurdle with the Rockies.
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The Pirates on Thursday signed free-agent pitcher Jason Grilli, 34, a right-hander who most recently pitched in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league organization.
The Pirates were looking at Grilli, who hinted at the deal early Wednesday on Twitter.
Grilli went 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 28 games at Class AAA Lehigh Valley this season.
The Phillies signed him as a minor league free agent before this season after he missed all of 2010 because of knee surgery. In eight major league seasons, he is 18-18 with a 4.74 ERA.
"Jason has quality major league experience in the bullpen," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said.
"He ... appears to be healthy and his stuff appears back to where it was when he was a solid major league reliever."
Game: Cardinals vs. Pirates, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
TV, radio: Root Sports, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: Chris Carpenter (5-7, 3.69) vs. LHP Paul Maholm (6-9, 3.06).
Key matchup: Carpenter vs. Lyle Overbay, who is 6 for 15 with three doubles in his career against him.
Of note: Carpenter has pitched at least seven innings in five of his past six starts.
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Grilli pitched for the Colorado Rockies in 2008-09 and is familiar with Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
The Pirates transferred reliever Evan Meek to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Grilli on the 40-man roster.
Meek, who has tendinitis in his right shoulder, can return Aug. 7, at the earliest.
The Pirates also optioned Pedro Ciriaco and Josh Harrison to Class AAA Indianapolis.
The Pirates said corresponding moves would come today, but most likely they will option Chris Leroux and recall Ronny Cedeno and Steve Pearce. Cedeno, who is on the seven-day disabled list because of a concussion, and Pearce, who is on the 15-day DL because of a strained calf, have been rehabilitating in Indianapolis.
First Published July 22, 2011 12:00 am
