The Pirates have signed former Tigers, Braves, Padres, Diamondbacks and Nationals pitcher Wilfredo Ledezma to a minor league deal. Ledezma can start, throws pretty hard (his fastball averages about 93), has a reasonable slider, is a lefty and will be just 29 in January, but he has never pitched very well in the majors and seems to encounter control problems there. He also has pronounced flyball tendencies, and he doesn't shut down lefties, which would make him less than ideal as a LOOGY (lefty one-out guy). I think the Pirates just signed him for depth--in case of emergency, he can start or relieve. Given the Bucs' bullpen troubles, I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he came north as a reliever, but I don't want him to. He's a perfectly capable AAA pitcher, but that's about it.