The Pirates have designated right-hander Vin Mazzaro for assignment, the team announced. Righty Brandon Cumpton has been called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
This is the second time that Mazzaro has been designated for assignment this season, as the reliever was previously DFA’ed at the end of Spring Training. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A rather than become a free agent in April.
All these transactions may have more to do with a roster crunch than a commentary on Mazzaro’s performance, as the righty was a big part of the Pittsburgh bullpen in 2013. He posted a 2.81 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate and 5.6 K/9 in 73 2/3 IP last season and was very effective against both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Mazzaro had a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 innings for the Bucs this season, plus 10 2/3 scoreless innings at Triple-A Indianapolis. As a first-time arbitration eligible player last winter, Mazzaro and the Pirates avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $950K deal for 2014.
Mazzaro joins two other Pirates (Wandy Rodriguez and Phil Irwin) in DFA Limbo according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker. Padres right-handers Blaine Boyer and Billy Buckner are the only two other players currently in limbo.
