Pirates sign Clayton Richard to minor league deal

The Pirates may have found the 2015 version of Vance Worley, or at least they're going to try.  According to an Indianapolis Indians press release, they've signed former Padres lefty Clayton Richard to a minor league deal with a spring training invitation.  Richard had solid seasons with San Diego in 2010 and 2012, going 14-9, 3.75, and 14-14, 3.99, respectively.  His xFIPs (4.04 and 4.16) were a bit less impressive and you also have to take into account the extreme pitching bias of the Padres' ballpark.  Richard suffered a shoulder strain in 2013 that limited him to just over 52 ineffective innings for the Padres.  He ultimately had two shoulder surgeries and didn't pitch in 2014 until he signed a minor league deal with Arizona.  He made four minor league starts and struggled badly.