The Pirates have placed righty reliever Franquelis Osoria on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis in his right ankle. Osoria has pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he is 3-2 with a 6.02 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. The Pirates have called up righty reliever T.J. Beam to replace Osoria on the roster and in the bullpen. Don’t expect much out of either of these guys even when they are healthy.

The Pirates are getting so desperate for starting pitching that they have signed 32-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Drese to a minor league contract. Drese has not pitched in the major leagues since the 2006 season with the Washington Nationals. Drese has pitched in 105 games (96 starts) in his major league career and he is 34-39 with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. If he pitches good in the minors the Pirates probably won’t wait too long to call him up.

The Pirates have placed righty starting pitcher Ian Snell on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow. Snell has started 16 games for the Pirates this season and he is 3-7 with a 5.99 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. While Snell has not been pitching well this season the Pirates will miss him because they really don’t have any good options in AAA to bring up.

The Pirates have acquired 27-year old righty reliever Denny Bautista from the Tigers for 23-year old righty reliever Kyle Pearson. Bautista has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he was 0-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 51 games (21 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-11 with a 6.42 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Kyle Pearson wasn’t much of a prospect so this was probably a good move for the Pirates. Pearson has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in A+AA ball this year and he was 1-1 with 4 saves, a 6.85 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP.

The Pirates have placed lefty starting pitcher Phil Dumatrait on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his left shoulder. Dumatrait has pitched in 20 games (10 starts) for the Pirates this season and he is 3-4 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Pirates have recalled righty reliever T.J. Beam to replace Dumatrait on the roster. Beam has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he is 2-1 with 4 saves, a 2.03 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.