BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates are bringing in a new arm to spring training after trading for Duane Underwood, Jr. from the Cubs for minor-league infielder Shendrik Apostel.
"[It's] an opportunity to get him in camp and let it play out, let our guys get our hands on him," Derek Shelton said about him. "We definitely like the stuff.
To make room on the 40-man, the Pirates designated Carson Fulmer for assignment.
Underwood Jr., a 26-year-old right-hander, was selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2012 amateur draft. He made his major league debut in 2018 and appeared in a career-high 17 games in 2020, pitching to a 5.66 ERA over 20 2/3 innings, though he did post good strikeout (30.7%) and whiff (15%) rates.
His repertoire mainly consists of a mid-90s four-seamer, a changeup that he throws to both left-handers and right-handers and a low-spin curve, though he will occasionally mix in a two-seamer and slider.
He is out of minor-league options, meaning he needs to make the opening day roster or be exposed to waivers. He will need to go through an intake process before he is able to officially join the Pirates.
Apostel was an international signee in 2017 and had an .872 OPS in the Dominican Summer League in 2019.
This marks the second time Fulmer has been designated for assignment by the Pirates, the other time coming last September. The Pirates later reclaimed him off waivers from the Orioles before the end of the season and kept him on the roster through the winter. He struck out three batters over two innings Friday and allowed two runs in four innings this spring. He never pitched in a regular season game for the Pirates.
