The Pirates have claimed pitcher Chad Beck from the Blue Jays and catcher Ali Solis from the Padres. They have designated Jeff Clement and Eric Fryer for assignment.
Beck will be 28 in January. He posted mediocre numbers last year as a reliever for Toronto and for Class AAA Las Vegas (the ERA is very good for Vegas, but his strikeout rate is mediocre). He's apparently a hard thrower, so I expect this acquisition is more about that than anything else.
Solis just turned 25. He's played sparingly throughout the minors, indicating that the Padres never thought very highly of him, although he posted decent numbers at Class AA San Antonio last year. His strike-zone judgment appears to be very poor, however, with 77 strikeouts and 11 walks there.
Of course, waiver claims this time of year often don't mean a whole lot. They aren't giving up much by designating Clement and Fryer for assignment, so there's really no reason for the Pirates not to take flyers on players like this right now. Amusingly, the Pirates claimed a pitcher and a catcher last November from these same two teams -- Jeremy Hefner, a pitcher from the Padres, and Brian Jeroloman, a catcher from the Blue Jays. Neither of them ended up playing for the Bucs.