Pirates claim Wirfin Obispo from Braves

The Pirates have claimed 29-year-old righty reliever Wirfin Obispo from the Braves, and optioned him to Indianapolis. Obispo has never played in the majors (although he pitched for several years in Japan), but there's plainly something interesting about him. The Braves rostered him after last season even though he walked a few too many batters at Triple-A last season, and he can apparently throw in the mid-90s.

Still, this was probably mostly about the fact that the Pirates just lost Bryan Morris, Phil Irwin and perhaps also Vin Mazzaro, and they needed depth. It would be a modest upset if Obispo pitched more than a handful of innings for the Pirates. Still, he's worth keeping an eye on if you happen to be in Indianapolis this summer, and he'll probably enter the conversation if the Bucs' bullpen has injury troubles.