Brad Lincoln returns to Pirates on minor league deal

The Pirates have signed old friend Brad Lincoln to a minor league deal, according to the team's transactions page (via Steve Adams). The Bucs traded Lincoln for Travis Snider in 2012, at which point Lincoln still looked like a relatively high-upside reliever. After the 2013 season, the Jays shipped him to Philadelphia.

Lincoln, who will be 30 (!) in May, appeared in two games with the Phillies last season. He pitched most of the season for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he posted a 5.11 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. I'm not sure why the Phillies had him starting -- he got good results as a reliever at Triple-A Buffalo in the Jays organization in 2013. With the Pirates, he'll probably start the season with Indianapolis. Assuming he's a reliever, there might be a small chance he could help the Bucs at some point. In any case, it's nice to have the 2006 No. 4 overall pick back in the organization.