Pirates promote Wilfredo Boscan, option Steve Lombardozzi

As you've undoubtedly heard by now, the Pirates have promoted righty Wilfredo Boscan to the big leagues and optioned Steve Lombardozzi to Indianapolis. They also transferred Brandon Cumpton to the 60-day DL.

Boscan, 25, is a minor-league signee who's never pitched in the majors but who's had a pretty good season at Triple-A so far. I didn't think he'd play much of a role with this year's team, and it's likely he still won't, but here's why he's coming up now. The Pirates threw a billion pitches in an extra-inning game yesterday and needed bullpen help. Boscan is uniquely equipped to provide innings today (and it doesn't look like the Pirates will need a ton of them, judging from the game so far, but if it goes into extra innings, Boscan will be there). He's a starter, so he can work five or six frames as long as he doesn't blow up, and he hasn't pitched since last Sunday. Also, since he's likely a low-priority player for the Pirates, they can designate him for assignment later and not worry much in the unlikely event that he's claimed.