Pirates release Jose Contreras

The Pirates have released the 41-year-old reliever from his minor league contract. This is the second time this year they've released the right-hander, who was coming off Tommy John surgery. They signed him to a minor league deal before the season, then called him up after a stint in the minors. He clearly wasn't ready to pitch to major league hitters and was released in mid-June. He agreed to come back on another minor league deal and pitched very well in AAA. He seemed like a good depth option for September, but that won't happen. I don't know yet whether the release was pursuant to some sort of agreement between Contreras and the club.