The Pirates have placed Josh Phelps off of waivers from the New York Yankees.  Phelps played in 36 games for the Yankees and he was 21 for 80 (.263 avg, .693 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs.  Phelps gives the Pirates a decent reserve player as he can play first base and serve as the #3 catcher on the Bucs roster.  He always has been a pretty decent hitter so he should bolster the bench.

Ronny Paulino looked so good last season that the Pirates considered him a building block for the future but he hasn’t played well this season.  In 54 games, Paulino is only 43 for 198 (.217 avg, .602 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 5 homers and 21 RBIs.  The thing that guarantees Paulino a lot of playing time is the fact that he plays much better defense than his backup which is currently Ryan Doumit.  Doumit is ripping the baseball though so Paulino better start hitting soon.  Doumit has played in 43 games for the Pirates this season and he’s 42 for 128 (.328 avg, .885 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs.

Xavier Nady is finally playing up to his ability.  In his last 24 games, Nady is 26 for 88 (.318 avg, .960 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 6 homers and 22 RBIs.  His season average has climbed to .282 and his OPS now stands at .835 on the season.  The Pirates need him to keep up his recent hot streak as they don’t have a lot of power in their lineup.

The Pirates are only 4-10 the last two weeks as they’ve been outscored 76-50.  The Pirates still aren’t hitting the ball and when you combine that with bad pitching it causes trouble.  The Pirates enter this week with a 26-37 record which has them in 5th place in the National League Central, 8 games behind the Brewers.

The Pirates have placed Salomon Torres on the 15-day disabled list with a case of right elbow inflammation.  Torres is having a rough season for the Pirates as he’s lost his closer’s job due to his sub-par performance in that role.  In 30 games this season, Torres is 0-3 with 12 saves, a 5.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  He has tossed 28 innings and he’s allowed 28 hits, walked 10 batters and whiffed 25.  The Pirates have recalled Masumi Kuwata from their AAA team.  In 3 games on the farm this season, Kuwata has thrown 4.1 innings and he’s whiffed 3 batters and allowed 3 hits, but no earned runs.  Hard to say how the 39 year old righty will be used for the Pirates.