The Pirates have placed left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo on the ten-day disabled list with pitching discomfort a left quad strain, or something. He’s been replaced on the active roster with Johnny Barbato.
Although it may not have been noticed by many fans, Bastardo has had just a bit of trouble so far this year. In six and two-thirds innings, he’s given up a dozen earned runs on fifteen hits, four of them gopher balls, and seven walks. That’s left him with a tidy ERA of 16.20. Presumably, the Pirates have let him know that it’s the left side that’s hurt.
His replacement was acquired recently from the Yankees for a PTBNL or Joe Cash. Barbato struggled in 13 games with the Yankees last year, although his xFIP of 3.74 was a lot more presentable than his 7.62 ERA, which resulted in large part from an extremely low strand rate of 52.3%. He did strike out 15 in 13 innings while walking only five. He’s pitched well at the AAA level, with a 1.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 9.3 K/9 in 48 games. That includes three scoreless innings with Indianapolis since the trade. The Pirates have said they view him as a multi-inning reliever, which could come in handy right now.