27-year old righty starting pitcher Charlie Morton is going to be out of action for the next 6 months after having surgery this past Monday to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. This is a bad break for Morton as he was solid for the Pirates in 2011. Morton pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Pirates last year and he was 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 64 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Pirates and he is 17-31 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

The Pirates have placed 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Ryan Ludwick on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to August 23rd, due to mid back muscle spasms. This is a shame as Ludwick was finally starting to turn it on with the bat in his hands for the Pirates. He has played in 21 games for the Pirates since coming over from the Padres at the trade deadline and he is 17 for 65 (.262 avg, .722 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs.

The Pirates have placed 28-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Steven Pearce on the 15-day disabled list due to a broken right index finger. Pearce has played in 50 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 19 for 94 (.202 avg, .515 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. The Pirates have called up 25-year old righty swinging infielder Pedro Ciriaco to replace Pearce on the active roster. Ciriaco has already played in 10 games for the Pirates this year and he is 3 for 11 (.273 avg, .636 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Kevin Correia on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 20th with a strained left oblique muscle. Correia has pitched in 27 games (26 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 12-11 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Maybe he has been pitching hurt as he has looked pretty awful lately for the Pirates. The Pirates have called up 27-year old righty reliever Chris LeRoux to replace Correia on the pitching staff. LeRoux has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP.

The Pirates have placed 29-year old lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left shoulder. Maholm has pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The Pirates are going to call up either Ross Ohlendorf or Brad Lincoln to replace Paul Maholm in the rotation. Maholm has had a rough season only because he hasn’t gotten any run support. That’s because he’s pitching the best baseball of his career right now.