Gamethread: Freese makes Pirates debut

David Freese will play in his first game in a Pirate uniform as the Bucs host the Yankees at 1:05 PM.  The lineup:

1.  John Jaso, 1B
2.  Andrew McCutchen, CF (?!)
3.  David Freese, DH
4.  Starling Marte, LF
5.  Josh Harrison, 2B
6.  Mike Morse, RF
7.  Jordy Mercer, SS
8.  Sean Rodriguez, 3B
9.  Chris Stewart, C

Jeff Locke will be on the mound.

One news item:  Piratesprospects.com is reporting (sub. req'd) that the Pirates have released LHP Jesse Biddle and are trying to re-sign him to a minor league deal.  This is the same pattern they followed with Casey Sadler and Angel Sanchez, offering an increase in salary to entice the player to stay in the organization.  They designated Biddle for assignment when they signed Freese.  Biddle, a former top prospect and first round pick of the Phillies, will miss the entire 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery.  He'll be eligible for minor league free agency after this season, so the Pirates obviously would need to get him to agree to some sort of deal that brings him back in 2017.