Pirates Claim RHP Jake Barrett

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed RHP Jake Barrett from the San Francisco Giants Friday afternoon.

Barrett, 27, was designated for assignment for the second time in a month on Feb. 22. He was traded to the Giants for cash considerations after being DFA’d by the Diamondbacks on Jan. 31.

Barrett had an intriguing rookie season out of Arizona’s bullpen in 2016, recording 8.5 K/9 and a 3.49 ERA, but a shoulder injury derailed his 2017 season. He looked good at times in AAA last season, finishing with a 2.87 ERA and 11.3 K/9, but he also had a 3.71 FIP and averaged 4.9 walks per nine. The Diamondbacks brought him back to the majors in September, where he allowed four runs in seven innings.

His four-seam fastball sits in the 92-96 MPH range. He also mixes in a slider and, on rare occasions, a split-finger. He’s added a little spin to his slider since 2016, but it still is one of the lower spin rates in baseball (2,108 RPM). Despite not moving a lot, the slider still misses bats, resulting in a healthy 27.4% whiff rate in 2016 and a 20.9% rate in his major league cameo last year.

The Pirates placed RHP Chad Kuhl on the 60 day injury list (forearm) to make room on the 40 man roster.