ST. LOUIS -- It's been a busy time for transactions and injuries across baseball, and the Pirates have not been an exception.
On Tuesday, reliever Sean Poppen was traded to the Rays for cash considerations. Poppen, 27, was designated for assignment this past Thursday after the club needed to make room for Will Craig on the 40-man roster as a replacement for Phillip Evans, who suffered a hamstring strain the night before and was placed on the injured list.
The Harvard-educated right-hander was used in mop-up duty in his brief, three-outing stint the Pirates. He had an excellent debut with the club during a 7-1 loss in Milwaukee, throwing two scoreless innings. But he was tagged for seven runs, four earned, over his next two outings against the Royals and Cardinals. Those three unearned runs were scored after a throwing error that Poppen himself committed.
Poppen was first recalled April 16 to cover a bullpen spot while Michael Feliz was on the injured list with a cracked fingernail. Feliz was also DFA'd last week and was claimed by the Reds on Saturday. Poppen has a 6.53 career ERA with 23 strikeouts over 13 appearances spanning 20 2/3 with the Twins and Pirates.
The Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Twins at the end of last season. He made eight appearances with the Bucs this spring, allowing 10 runs, nine earned, over 10 2/3 innings.
• The Pirates also announced that left-hander Austin Davis will jump up a couple levels to Class AAA Indianapolis for an upcoming rehab assignment. Davis had previously pitched in two rehab games with low Class A Bradenton and allowed a run on two hits over three total innings. The 28-year-old is currently on the 60-day injured list with a left elbow sprain.
