Pirates Claim John Meloan

The Pirates have claimed reliever John Meloan off waivers from the Rays and sent him to Indianapolis. Meloan came up with the Dodgers, who traded him to Cleveland as a throw-in in the Casey Blake deal. He then went to Tampa earlier this year in a minor trade. He racked up absurd strikeout totals in the low minors but struggled in the tough pitching environment of Las Vegas and hasn't been quite as interesting since. Between his high strikeout totals, high walk totals and ugly ERAs, he follows pretty closely in the tradition of Neal Huntington acquisitions like Denny Bautista and Tyler Yates (whose spot Meloan takes on the 40-man roster as Yates moves to the 60-day DL). But at least the risk here is limited.

The Bucs also sent Evan Meek on the DL to nurse his strained oblique and recalled Steven Jackson to take his place on the roster. They also signed Australian amateur pitcher Jarryd Sullivan, who I'm guessing will head to Bradenton or perhaps State College next year.