Pirates designate Radhames Liz for assignment

To make room on the 25-man roster for Charlie Morton, who's scheduled to make his season debut tonight against Miami, the Pirates designated right-handed reliever Radhames Liz for assignment.  Liz had no options and so couldn't be sent to AAA without first being exposed to waivers.  The moves obviously mean that Vance Worley will shift from the rotation into a long relief role.

The Pirates signed Liz, a former top Orioles' prospect, after he'd pitched for several years in Korea.  They reportedly agreed initially to a two-year deal, but due to dissatisfaction with his physical, reworked the contract to a one-year, $1 million major league deal.  Clint Hurdle didn't appear to have much faith in Liz, using him in only 11 of the team's first 43 games.  Liz worked 17.1 IP with a solid 3.63 ERA and 9.3 K/9.  His other numbers, though, were less solid, with 5.2 BB/9, an FIP of 5.40 and xFIP of 4.41.  His low groundball rate of 34.7% probably didn't endear him to the Pirates, either.