Pirates acquire Kyle Lobstein from Tigers

The Pirates have announced that they've acquired lefty Kyle Lobstein from the Tigers for cash considerations. The Tigers had designated Lobstein for assignment late last week.

The 26-year-old Lobstein posted a 5.94 ERA, 4.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in the big leagues last year, with an average fastball velocity below 87 MPH. He did have a fairly high ground-ball rate, and who knows if some mechanical adjustments might help him, or if he might benefit from a move to the bullpen. But Lobstein looks less like a Ray Searage project and more like a depth piece for Triple-A. He's optionable, he's capable of starting, and he's reasonably young. He also got fairly good results at Triple-A in 2013 and 2014. It would be very surprising if Lobstein were to break camp with the team, or if he were to make more than a spot start here or there. Instead, he's likely to be a mainstay of the Indianapolis rotation -- unless, of course, the Pirates designate him for assignment themselves at some point.