Pirates acquire Bautista

The Pirates made a trade Wednesday afternoon, acquiring relief pitcher Denny Bautista from Detroit in exchange for minor league relief pitcher Kyle Pearson.
Bautista, who is scheduled to arrive Thursday, has made 21 career starts but will start out pitching in middle relief according to Pirates general manager Neal Huntington.
“He’s a nice addition,” Huntington said. “He’s an upgrade over what we currently have.”
When Bautista arrives, the Pirates will need to make a corresponding move on the 25-man roster in order to fill Friday’s pitching vacancy, though Huntington said that likely won’t occur until after Thursday’s game. The same goes for Saturday’s starting pitcher, which will be likely be announced after Friday’s game.
Bautista, 27, began this season with Detroit and was 0-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 16 games (19 innings pitched). Bautista struck out 10 and walked 14 before being designated for assignment June 20.
“Our scouts have seen a plus breaking ball from him and a plus third pitch at times,” Huntington said. “His struggle has obviously been consistency of strikes.”
In his five-year major league career, Bautista has also pitched for Baltimore, Kansas City and Colorado. He has a 4-11 record with a 6.42 ERA in 51 games, 21 starts and 30 in relief.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Bautista, the Pirates unconditionally released outfielder Kevin Thompson, who was with Class AAA Indianapolis and underwent successful surgery on his left hand Tuesday.
Two candidates from Indianapolis to possibly start Friday are Jason Davis, who is 4-7 with a 4.57 ERA in 15 starts, and Jimmy Barthmaier, who is 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in five starts. Barthmaier has also struck out 29 in 31 innings against six walks.
Two possibilities for Saturday are Ty Taubenheim, who is 4-9 with a 4.60 ERA at Indianapolis, and John Van Benschoten, who is 7-2 with a 3.75 ERA but has a tender shoulder and a blister.