Pirates demote Alderson, reacquire Bixler
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Pirates pitching prospect Tim Alderson.
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The Pirates made two surprising moves in the minor leagues Monday, demoting pitching prospect Tim Alderson from Class AA to A, and reacquiring shortstop Brian Bixler.
Alderson, a 21-year-old right-hander, has mostly struggled since being the only player acquired in the Freddy Sanchez trade last summer: In 17 starts for Class AA Altoona, he was 7-5 with a 5.62 ERA, with opponents batting .307 with 10 home runs in 89 innings.
His final start with the Curve came Monday, when he lasted only three innings and was charged with six runs, five earned. That made for a total of 15 runs over six innings in his past two starts.
He will join high Class A Bradenton and stay in a starting role.
Game: Pirates vs. Houston Astros, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: LHP Zach Duke (3-8, 5.49) vs. RHP Brett Myers (6-6, 3.41).
"We felt like we needed to get Alderson off the treadmill of surviving and trying to get Double-A hitters out, and shifted to taking the steps necessary to get on track to getting major-league hitters out," director of player development Kyle Stark said. "This is a big-picture move focused on his delivery, mentality and understanding of who he needs to be as a pitcher."
Alderson, a gangly 6 feet 6, has had a complex delivery dating to his days as a hard-throwing prospect in the San Francisco system. Around the time of the July 29, 2009 trade, he experienced a drop in fastball velocity, sometimes as low as 83 mph. He worked over the offseason to restore the delivery of his youth, and some of that velocity returned but not all.
Sanchez missed the Giants' first six weeks this season because of offseason shoulder surgery, and he is batting .285 with nine doubles, a triple and a home run in the 48 games since returning.
Bixler, 27, struggled immensely in every facet during the 68 games he spent with the Pirates in 2008-09, batting .178 with 62 strikeouts in 152 at-bats. That included an astounding 26 strikeouts in 44 at-bats in 2009. He also committed 11 errors in 49 games in the field.
Bixler was batting .278 with three home runs and 27 RBIs for Class AAA Columbus, and he immediately joined the Pirates' Class AAA affiliate, Indianapolis, with the trade.
Minor as the acquisition appears on the surface, it could mean the Pirates are about to promote shortstop Argenis Diaz from Indianapolis. Diaz, 23, long has been a glove-first type, but he has exceeded modest expectations at the plate with a .254 average. He was being strongly considered for a promotion in May that instead went to Neil Walker.
Also in the minors, catcher Tony Sanchez, the Pirates' first-round draft pick last year, will be unable to resume full action until the Florida Instructional League in October, Stark said. Sanchez's jaw was fractured by a pitch last month with Bradenton.
At the time of the injury, general manager Neal Huntington had expressed hope that Sanchez could return for the final week or two of the Marauders' season, which ends Sept. 5.
First Published July 12, 2010 11:13 pm
