DENVER — The Pirates' bullpen is far from settled, despite the deadline addition of Keone Kela. In a move to add depth to the 40-man roster, the club claimed left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Astros Tuesday afternoon and optioned the 30-year-old to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Boshers had a 3.18 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 41 relief appearances, 51 innings, for Triple-A Fresno this season, walking 2.6 batters per nine innings — the second-lowest mark in the Pacific Coast League. Additionally, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, acquired from the Rays Monday, has reported to Coors Field and will be active against the Rockies, and Sean Rodriguez was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strain of the left abdomen.
Boshers is another possible long relief option for the Pirates, who traded Tyler Glasnow at the non-waiver deadline and optioned Steven Brault to Indianapolis last week. To make room for Boshers on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated outfielder Christopher Bostick for assignment.
"It may be a turn through our minor-league system and bringing a guy in to provide that ultra-long support from time to time, as we've done recently with [Alex McRae] or [Casey Sadler] and a couple other guys we've brought it," Clint Hurdle said of how the Pirates could address their need for long relief. "It may be assisted by a little more length from the starting rotation. ... It's a different way through the living room you're looking to come up with. It very well could be until September when you can add volume of personnel, bringing somebody up from time to time to help from our Triple-A team, or a claim or something else."
Rodriguez has one hit and 11 strikeouts in his last 20 at-bats. The 33-year-old was placed on the disabled list June 27 with a right quadriceps strain and returned July 20, hitting two home runs with six hits in his first 12 at-bats after being activated. He's batted just .168 with 115 strikeouts in 279 at-bats since returning to the field last July following a shoulder injury caused by a car accident.
Boshers hasn't pitched in the majors this season, but he appeared in 38 games for the Twins last season before being designated for assignment by them in January. He had a 1.34 WHIP and 28 strikeouts to 10 walks while allowing 9.5 hits per nine innings. He's posted a 1.27 WHIP in 86 1/3 big-league innings during his career, including a 1.16 WHIP with the Twins in 2016.
Boshers has 14 multi-inning appearances in Triple-A this season, throwing as many as three innings in the hitter-friendly PCL. The former fourth-round pick was pitching in independent-league ball only three years ago after making his big-league debut with the Angels in 2013.
Boshers had 55 strikeouts to 15 walks for Fresno this season and held right-handers to a .204 batting average, but lefties batted .300 against him and he's allowed two or more runs in two of his last six appearances. He’s now just one of three left-handers on the Pirates' 40-man roster, joining Brault and Felipe Vazquez, and provides the club with an additional lefty option if Brault is unable to correct his issues with command.
Brault walked a team-high 46 batters before being sent to Triple-A, and he's expected to pitch once every two days with Indianapolis. He and Glasnow threw a combined 99 1/3 innings out of the Pirates' bullpen, while Glasnow ranked eighth in the majors in pitches per game in relief.
In their absence, the Pirates are relying on Sadler, Dovydas Neverauskas, Richard Rodriguez and Edgar Santana to throw multiple innings, although the latter two can't both be used for multiple innings in the same game. Sadler hasn't pitched in the major leagues since April 2015, and opponents are batting .323 against Neverauskas in 15 1/3 innings this season.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, has a 1.57 ERA in 12 appearances of more than one inning, and Santana has a 0.60 ERA in his nine multi-inning appearances. With the addition of Kela, neither Rodriguez nor Santana will always be needed to throw in the seventh or eighth inning, freeing them up to potentially pitch in middle relief.
Yet, the Pirates are looking to better protect themselves from a situation like last week, when Ivan Nova, Chris Archer and Nick Kingham threw a combined 9 1/3 innings, which taxed the bullpen despite the Pirates having two off-days. Although the Pirates, like many teams across the majors, have invested in high-leverage relievers, middle relief is more important now than ever before, as the average length of a start continues to decrease across the league.
"You're looking for those guys to pitch the fifth or sixth, and that fifth inning could be 2-3-4," Hurdle said. "It's shed a different light on a lot of different things. One of the reasons we've gone the way we've gone over the years, to have that multiple-inning guy, is to be able to do that, to carry you over the middle. ... They're becoming very valuable as well."
Bostick, 25, was converted to the outfield last season and is having an outstanding second year at Triple-A Indianapolis, batting .295 with a .787 OPS in 78 games. His ability to play both middle infield spots, as well as all three in the outfield, will likely make him attractive to another organization.
• Josh Bell, eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday, told DKPittsburghSports.com he expects to be activated in time for first pitch Wednesday. Bell suffered a left oblique strain on a swing July 27, and it was his first oblique injury since 2014, although he was able to play through it. The 25-year-old batted .329 with a .884 OPS in 22 games in July.