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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.