Lacking left-handed pitching at higher levels within the organization, the Pirates claimed Nik Turley off waivers from the Twins, the club announced Tuesday.
Turley, 28, went 0-2 with an 11.21 ERA, 2.15 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 10 appearances, including three starts, for the Twins in 2017, although he spent most of the season at Triple-A Rochester. In a corresponding move, the Pirates outrighted left-handed reliever Dan Runzler off the 40-man roster, making him a free agent.
The moves came three days after the Pirates declined a club option for left-handed reliever Wade LeBlanc, who was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis.
LeBlanc, who completed his first full season as a reliever and was also outrighted to Indianapolis Friday, had a 2.47 ERA when he pitched more than one inning in a game and had a 1.96 ERA in May, but struggled for much of the second half of the season.
The 33-year-old had a 4.50 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in 68 innings this season, but opponents batted .264 against him after May. Felipe Rivero is now the only proven left-handed reliever on the Pirates' 40-man roster.
Neal Huntington didn’t rule out moving left-hander Steven Brault, the Pirates’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year, to the bullpen in 2018 because the starting rotation is set. Although Brault had a 4.86 ERA with a 1.68 WHIP in 16 2/3 innings as a reliever for the Pirates this past season, he was used in a variety of roles in Triple-A to prepare him for a potential move to the bullpen in the major leagues.
Aside from Brault, Triple-A Indianapolis had only three left-handers pitch in relief this season: Runzler, Jack Leathersich and Cody Dickson.
Leathersich, who is under club control next season, missed all of 2016 with Tommy John surgery and has only 22 2/3 innings in the majors. Dickson, a 25-year-old who was a fourth-round draft pick in 2013, had a 1.75 WHIP in 40 innings with Indianapolis after being recalled from Altoona in June and is not on the 40-man roster.
If the Pirates choose to move Brault to the bullpen, they could return Turley to his role as a starting pitcher, although Turley is out of minor league options, so he'd have to pass through waivers to spend time at Triple-A Indianapolis. A 50th-round draft pick of the Yankees in 2008, Turley has started 139 of the 176 games in which he's appeared during his professional career.
He started 10 games at Rochester last season, recording a 1.18 WHIP in 67 2/3 innings with 79 strikeouts and 22 walks. Turley was recalled in June and made his major league debut in a spot start against the Giants, allowing four runs on eight hits in four innings.
Turley made two more starts before returning to Triple-A and didn't fare better in his two stints as a reliever, recording a 5.40 ERA in 8 1/3 innings out of the Twins' bullpen.
Turley, who has spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues, was the Yankees' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2012, earning him a spot on their 40-man roster. However, he was released in 2014 after experiencing arm tightness at Triple-A and joined the Giants and Red Sox on minor league deals before spending 2016 with the Somerset Patriots, who compete in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
He was signed by the Twins and had a 0.37 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings at Double-A Chattanooga before getting recalled to Triple-A.