The Pirates have placed 30-year old switch-hitting catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list due to a left ankle sprain. Doumit has played in 34 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 25 for 93 (.269 avg, .774 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 4 homers and 15 RBIs. 30-year old righty swinging Chris Snyder will take over as the primary catcher for the Pirates until Doumit is ready to return to action. Snyder has played in 27 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 22 for 80 (.275 avg, .760 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. The Pirates have called up 28-year old righty swinging catcher Dusty Brown to replace Doumit on the active roster. Brown has played in 30 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 26 for 99 (.263 avg, .883 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 homers and 19 RBIs. Brown has played in 14 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 4 for 15 (.267 avg, .846 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.

The Pirates have placed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Steven Pearce on the 15-day disabled list due to a right calf strain. Pearce has played in 28 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 16 for 55 (.291 avg, .721 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. The Pirates have called up 23-year old righty swinging infielder Josh Harrison to replace Pearce on the bench. Harrison came into this season as the Pirates’ #30 prospect according to Baseball America. Harrison has played in 37 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 43 for 134 (.321 avg, .816 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 367 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 431 for 1,404 (.307 avg, .775 OPS) with 213 runs scored, 14 homers, 170 RBIs and 75 stolen bases.

The Pirates have placed 34-year old lefty reliever Joe Beimel on the 15-day disabled list due to left elbow inflammation. Beimel has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Pirates have called up 25-year old lefty reliever Daniel Moskos to replace Beimel in the bullpen. Moskos has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP.

The Pirates tried to get a nice bargain in inking 34-year old lefty swinging 1B Lyle Overbay over the winter, but he just hasn’t panned out for them yet. Overbay has played in 47 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 39 for 167 (.234 avg, .654 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has been a little better in May, but not much. Overbay has played in 20 games so far this May and he is 18 for 73 (.247 avg, .697 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Pirates need Overbay to pick up the pace with the bat, because they are depending on him.

Righty reliever Elroy Face as the Pirates’ closer before they were chic. His best season for the Pirates came in 1962. Face pitched in 65 games (0 starts) in 1962 with the Pirates and he was 8-7 with 28 saves, a 1.88 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. His 28 saves in 1962 led the majors. Face pitched in 802 games (27 starts) in his 15 years with the Pirates and he was 100-93 witih 188 saves, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Face represented the Pirates in the All-Star Game 3 times while with the Pirates. He is the Pirates’ all-time leader in both games pitched (802) and saves (188).