Pirates trade for Arquimedes Caminero

The Pirates have announced that they've acquired pitcher Arquimedes Caminero from the Marlins for cash considerations. The Marlins designated Caminero for assignment last week, but he hadn't cleared waivers, so he'll join the Pirates' 40-man roster, which had an open spot.

Caminero, 27, made handfuls of appearances out of the Marlins' bullpen in both 2013 and 2014. He spent most of last season with Triple-A New Orleans, posting a 4.86 ERA and walking 30 batters in 63 innings, but with a very high 11.3 K/9. His fastball averaged 95.5 MPH in the big leagues last season, but he relied very heavily on that fastball, and he's a fly ball pitcher who doesn't fit the Pirates' usual M.O. The strikeouts and velocity give him a bit of upside, which makes him better than the usual player available as a free talent acquisition.

My guess, though, is that the Pirates will try to sneak Caminero through waivers at some point. He's out of options, and my guess is that he'll have to show quite a lot in Spring Training to make the team, given that a couple other pitchers vying for the last few roster spots are out of options too.