10:56am: Correction – the Pirates have offered a minor league contract to Bootcheck, but no agreement has been reached.
12:15am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates signed free agent reliever Chris Bootcheck. It’s a minor league deal paying $700K for time spent in the Majors. Bootcheck pitched 54 innings this year at various levels. He missed time with a strained oblique and forearm.
Bootcheck went to the Angels with the 20th overall pick in the 2000 draft; he was advised by Scott Boras. If Bootcheck is still represented by Boras, this move could be viewed as a sign that the Pedro Alvarez drama did not have a lingering effect. Bootcheck hasn’t done much in the Majors, but he does average about 93mph with his fastball.
