The Pirates have designated 25-year ild righty starter/reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to make room on the roster for Octavio Dotel. Claggett pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Yankees and Pirates last season and he was 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA and a 4.64 WHIP. He also pitched in 39 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 7-7 with 4 saves, a 3.07 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Pirates won’t miss Claggett too much as he looked overwhelmed against major league hitters last year.

The Pirates have signed 36-year old righty reliever Octavio Dotel to a 1-year deal with a option for the 2011 season. Dotel pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 3-3 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He only allowed 54 hits last season while whiffing 75 batters in only 62 1/3 innings showing how nasty his stuff still is. Dotel has now pitched in 562 games (34 starts) in his major league career and he is 46-39 with 83 saves, a 3.73 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has whiffed 940 batters in his career in only 770 1/3 innings and he has only allowed 617 hits. Dotel will serve as the Pirates’ closer in 2010 and I think he will do a solid job.

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.