Notes: Dodgers claim Cole Figueroa; Austin Meadows and Dovydas Neverauskas to represent Pirates at Futures Game

A couple quick notes for the afternoon:

-P- The Dodgers have announced that they've claimed Cole Figueroa, who the Pirates designated for assignment late last week. I'm a bit surprised -- Figueroa hasn't hit much this season. And I would have liked for the Bucs to have been able to keep him in the organization, since he's a smart player with versatility and some on-base skills. But Adam Frazier is a better fit for the Pirates in Figueroa's role going forward, so it probably doesn't matter much.

-P- The Pirates have announced that Austin Meadows and Dovydas Neverauskas will represent them in the All-Star Futures Game. The Meadows selection was obvious, but the Neverauskas one wasn't, and it's an inspired choice. He signed with the Bucs out of Lithuania -- not exactly a baseball hotbed -- in 2009 and has made a slow, uphill climb through the minors since then. Now he's 23 and at Triple-A, and he has 34 strikeouts in 32.2 innings in relief in the high minors this season, all while throwing hard. He now looks at least somewhat likely to reach the majors, and that's really something, given his background.