The Pirates have designated 27-year old righty reliever Steven Jackson for assignment. He pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Pirates last season and he was 2-3 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He did walk 22 batters in only 43 innings last season for the Pirates which is too many. The Pirates’ GM has stated that Jackson pitched over his head with them and they will look to trade him. He might be right about Jackson who also pitched in 19 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season where he was 1-0 with 1 save, a 4.45 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

The Pirates have claimed 26-year old lefty outfielder Brandon Jones off waivers from the Braves. He played in 5 games for the Braves last season and he was 4 for 13 (.308 avg, .778 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 107 games in AAA-ball in which he was 108 for 384 (.281 avg, .779 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 7 homers, 57 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Jones has now played in 51 games in his career in the majors and he is 38 for 148 (.257 avg, .678 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer and 22 RBIs. This was a nice low risk move for the Pirates to take as Jones was one of the Braves’ top prospects just a couple of years ago.

The Pirates have traded 27-year old righty swinging shortstop Brian Bixler to the Indians for 22-year old righty swinging 3B/OF Jesus Brito. The Pirates were in a roster crunch due to the signing of Brendan Donnelly and that’s really why they made this trade. Bixler played in 18 games for the Pirates last season and he was 10 for 44 (.227 avg, .602 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He finishes his career with the Pirates having played in 68 games in which he was 27 for 152 (.178 avg, .475 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Brito played in 60 games in A+Rookie ball for the Indians last season and he was 79 for 224 (.353 avg, .998 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 3 homers, 43 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 258 games in four years in the minors and he is 229 for 893 (.256 avg, .739 OPS)with 153 runs scored, 7 homers, 120 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Brito doesn’t have a huge upside but neither does Bixler and Bixler’s roster spot is better used with Donnelly.

The Pirates have signed 38-year old righty reliever Brendan Donnelly to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar contract with incentives that could make it worth up to $3 million bucks. Donnelly pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 3-0 with 2 saves, a 1.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has now pitched in 349 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 29-9 with 6 saves, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Donnelly has always had good stuff as he has only allowed 300 hits in 354 2/3 career majors league innings and he has whiffed 343 batters. The Pirates will probably use Donnelly as the top set-up man in 2010.

The Pirates have signed 32-year old righty reliever D.J. Carrasco to a minor league deal. Carrasco pitched in 49 games (1 start) for the White Sox last season and he was 5-1 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 181 games (23 starts) in his major league career and he is 20-16 with 2 saves, a 4.45 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Pirates because Carrasco has the type of arm that allows him to throw a lot of innings out of the pen.