Via Baseball America's Matt Eddy, the Pirates have signed outfielder Daniel Ortiz and reliever Curtis Partch, presumably to minor league deals.
These should both be fun additions to Indianapolis' roster. Ortiz probably isn't going anywhere, but he's a former fourth-round pick who bats left-handed, hit 17 home runs in Triple-A last year, and will only turn 26 next month. His poor control of the strike zone looks likely to hold him back, but he took slight steps forward in that area last year, and if he takes another one, he could perhaps have a short big-league career as a bench outfielder, particularly since he can play center.
Partch is a 28-year-old righty who appeared briefly for the Reds in 2013 and 2014. His average fastball velocity in the big leagues in 2014 was about 96 MPH, and he struck out 81 batters in 63.2 innings for the Giants' Triple-A affiliate last year. As you might guess from the fact that he's available on a minor league contract, his control isn't the best. If he can improve that somewhat, he might be able to help. There are, of course, lots of relievers in Triple-A about whom you could say that, but I'd prefer to have at least a few players with a bit of upside in my Triple-A bullpen rather than guys who just eat innings.