The Pirates claimed outfielder Xavier Paul off waivers from the Dodgers, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Paul had been designated for assignment on April 18th to make room for Jerry Sands. The Pirates announced they transferred Scott Olsen to the 60-day DL to open up a 40-man roster spot for Paul. They'll make a 25-man roster move once Paul reports to Pittsburgh.
Paul, 26, hit .325/.384/.579 in 250 Triple-A plate appearances last year, playing all three outfield positions in his third stint at the level. The success did not carry over to the big leagues. Paul last cracked a Baseball America handbook prior to the 2010 season, at which point he was rated a couple of spots ahead of Sands at 23rd among Dodgers prospects. BA praised Paul's raw talent, but said he doesn't have enough power to compensate for his strikeouts. He's a good defender with plus speed.
Paul is the ninth player Pirates GM Neal Huntington has claimed off waivers since the beginning of 2010, according to MLBTR's Transaction Tracker.
I’m assuming they’re going to designate either Pearce or Bowker for assignment.
Pearce likely won’t be DFA’d, because he has an option remaining
Gave you the like for the choice of avatar..
Black Flag?
I just checked and it is. I am so smrt.
Much obliged!
I doubt we’ll ever hear any Black Flag at PNC Park, but after 18 years of losing songs like “Nervous Breakdown”, “I’ve Had It”, “I’ve Heard It Before,” and yes even “Six Pack” make for a sadly appropriate soundtrack.
Isn’t this a team overflowing with outfielders? Why add this guy?
I have no idea… I didn’t even know they were interested.
They asked about him last trade deadline for a potential trade that would have sent Paul Maholm to the dodgers.
Because the Pirates need a number three hitter.
No worries if you are DFA’d….there’s always the Pirates!
Sad but true under Neal Huntington.
Pat Lackey (of the blog Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?) put it best:
“Sometimes, I’m just sick of the Pirates being MLB’s Island of Misfit Toys.”
Eh, I thought he might get through…
Oh well. Paul, I wish you the best of luck.
loving them SoCal former prospects
Finally, somebody claimed by Pittsburgh that (hopefully) won’t be designated 14 days from now…
Good Luck XP!
Well that’s a shocker!
I wish Paul the best.. I think he will be a good match with Clint Hurdle, and I think he will have some success there. He never got a shot at regular playing time with the Dodgers, and I think he can benefit from being on a team that can exercise a little more patience in him. I think its a nice pick up for the Pirates and their fans.
He isn’t going to get much playing time in Pittsburgh unless there are injuries. LF and CF are locked up with tabata and mccutchen and RF is currently a platoon of Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz, neither of which will be benched.
I haven’t heard anything, but there actually might be an ‘injury’ to someone. If there’s one thing Huntington has been good at, it’s exploiting the disabled list to keep players that are otherwise out of options, no matter how benign the ‘injury.’
I’m actually starting to think it’s tabata who suffered an injury due to the fact he’s not in the lineup tonight. If that’s the case then there’s no problem with this signing.
I’m actually starting to think it’s tabata who suffered an injury due to the fact he’s not in the lineup tonight. If that’s the case then there’s no problem with this signing.
Wasn’t winning supposed to be a good match for Hurdle? I know it’s early in the season but the Pirates still aren’t winning, duh!
its only 22 games into the season and they are 10-12. They won some pretty good series also
You must of missed the part where I said “I know it’s early in the season”…
Could be something bigger, like a trade of Matt Diaz or Garrett Jones, in the works
Phil, I think you’re on to something. The next question we have ask is, “Where is Neal sending Andrew McCutchen?”
All kidding aside, if I was a betting man I’d say that either Tabata is going on the DL or Bowker is being DFA’d.
Future Yankee Andrew McCutchen
I think the Pirates now hold the record for having the most players named Xavier play for them. I hope I like him as much as the last player the Pirates claimed from the Dodgers (Delwyn Young). I really hated seeing DY go.
And the Dodgers are tying to set the record for having the most players named Blake.
Championships!
Pretty good pickup in my opinion. He shows some promise.
Xavier Paul is a reasonably talented player who is just old enough that many no longer think of him as a prospect. Given 400 at-bats, I could easily see him hitting .270-9-60-20. He could have a long career as a fourth outfielder which is pretty good when you do not have to give up anything to get him.
So I quess Bowker is getting the boot.. This confuses me.
pearce is getting booted to indy
Actually, it probably is Steven Pearce as he may have been replaced by Brandon Wood.
All signs are pointing to Pearce being moved to Indy(aaa). With Wood taking over his role not much need for him. It is an odd pick up though with Bowker a left handed bat off the bench. I guess Paul is a better def OF and can play some CF. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if 1 of the catchers are traded or 1 of the Jones/Diaz platoon. Bowker could slide into Jones position with Paul as bench OF. Either way not a big signing. BUcs have 1st waiver pick until the end of the month so why not.
I feel bad for Steve Pearce, if that’s who gets sent down. He worked his tail off in ST, and he hasn’t gotten much of a chance so far this year.
How about Crotta getting the boot since he has a bunch of options left? (Boot is a strong word since I think he’s doing a good job.) It’s not like they can’t bring him up later this year.
I wish they got Vinny Paul from Pantera as opposed to Xavier Paul.