Pirates sign Rafael Perez

The Pirates have signed 32-year-old lefty Rafael Perez and assigned him to Indianapolis, Rob Biertempfel writes. I doubt Perez will end up in the majors with the Bucs, but I thought the same thing about Vance Worley, and the Pirates need bullpen help right now, so who knows.

Perez pitched fairly well in Mexico this year and used to get lots of ground balls when he pitched for Cleveland, so the Pirates probably feel like he gives them something they can work with. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, spending parts of seven seasons in the Indians' bullpen.