Obviously anticipating another bridge year, the Pirates chose to save the waiver fee and forego claiming Brady Dragmire, who was outrighted to the minors by Texas. “With limited resources and only 40 roster spots, we have to make choices,” GM Neal Huntington rationalized. “We’re comfortable going with the relievers we have. Out of Tony Watson, Felipe Rivero, Dan Hudson, Antonio Bastardo, Juan Nicasio, Jared Hughes, A.J. Schugel, Tyler Webb, Nefi Ogando, Wade LeBlanc, Dovydas Neverauskas, Edgar Santana, Lisalverto Bonilla, and maybe ten or twenty other guys, we feel we can just scrape together enough bullpen innings to survive the year.”
Dragmire made an indelible mark in his 67-day tenure with the Pirates, particularly in increasing fan interest in the waiver rules. He’ll long be remembered.