The 31-year-old Luebke has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in the past half-decade but made his first big league appearance since 2012 this past season. Luebke broke camp with the Pirates after signing a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last winter, though he didn’t fare well in his return to a Major League mound. Luebke tossed just 8 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh and yielded nine runs on 15 hits and 11 walks with nine strikeouts. He did fare better in 24 1/3 minor league innings, tallying a 1.85 ERA and a 35-to-3 K/BB ratio between the Pirates and Marlins organizations.

Luebke once looked like a potential long-term cog in the Padres’ rotation, debuting with the team in 2010 and seemingly blossoming a year later. The southpaw turned in 139 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 2011, which earned him a four-year, $12MM extension. While many such deals are panned when they’re signed, Luebke’s decision to accept that then-modest sum now appears wise in light of his arm troubles.

A return to a starting role doesn’t appear likely for Luebke following a pair of Tommy John operations, but he could get an opportunity to compete for a bullpen gig with the rebuilding ChiSox in 2017. Dan Jennings currently stands as the top lefty option in new manager Rick Renteria’s bullpen, with less-proven southpaw Giovanni Soto (not to be confused with the catcher of the same, albeit differently spelled name) also in line to get a look this spring.

As for Blair, the 27-year-old is a longtime Red Sox farmhand that made his big league debut with the A’s in 2015 after signing a minor league deal there. Blair received just 35 plate appearances and didn’t hit well, but he’s coming off a more productive .250/.339/.372 batting line split between the A’s and Rangers organizations in 2016 (all in the minor leagues). He’s not likely to factor into the Sox’ plans out of Spring Training but could head the minors and serve as a depth piece in either Double-A or Triple-A.

Bourgeois, 35, made his Major League debut with the 2008 White Sox (though he played in just six games) and would go on to appear for five teams over the next seven seasons. He’s a career .253/.300/.326 hitter in the Majors and delivered a solid .292/.333/.385 batting line in 122 Triple-A contests with the Sox and D-backs last year.

There were both positives and negatives to be drawn from Luebke’s stint in Pittsburgh. On the one hand, the 31-year-old was able to return to a big league hill for the first time since 2012 after battling through a host of arm injuries, including a pair of UCL tears. On the other, he wasn’t exactly successful in his reincarnation as a reliever.

Over 8 2/3 frames, Luebke allowed 11 earned runs an coughed up 11 walks to go with his nine strikeouts. That’s obviously not a viable pitching line, but the 2016 results haven’t all been bad. He returned to his usual fastball velocity levels (91.6 mph) at the major league level, and was rather dominant over his time at Triple-A. In 18 1/3 innings there, Luebke pitched to a 2.45 ERA with 14.2 K/9 against just 1.5 BB/9.

The Bucs designated Luebke for assignment earlier this week, ending a rough stint for the left-hander in Pittsburgh’s bullpen.  Luebke posted a 9.35 ERA over 8 2/3 innings, with 11 walks to nine strikeouts.  It was Luebke’s first taste of big league action since 2012 as his career was sidelined by multiple injuries, including two Tommy John surgeries.

Check out the MLBTR DFA Tracker for information on the many players currently awaiting their next assignment.

The moves are intended to address the Bucs’ increasingly beleaguered pitching staff. Luebke’s departure comes as little surprise. After missing the last three seasons while having two Tommy John surgeries, the 31-year-old Luebke signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates and briefly attracted positive attention in Spring Training, with some writers concluding his good stuff and pedigree (he was once a solid youngstarter for the Padres) might make him a candidate to revive his career under the tutelage of Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage. That hasn’t come to pass, however, as Luebke has allowed nine runs and 11 walks in just 8 2/3 big-league innings, including an appearance yesterday in which he faced four batters and didn’t record an out.

• It didn’t take long for Ed Lucas to catch on with another organization after his recent release by the Mariners. The 33-year-old has signed on with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). He’ll look to improve upon a .232/.265/.399 slash line over his first 147 Triple-A plate appearances on the year, with hopes of returning to the majors for the first time since his 2013-14 run with the Marlins.
• The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Wilfredo Boscan from Triple-A Indianapolis, with catching prospect Elias Diaz hitting the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster and left-hander Cory Luebke being optioned to Triple-A to clear room on the active roster. Boscan will throw his first pitch as a big leaguer if he takes the hill for the Bucs. The 26-year-old spent last season in the organization as well and was even promoted to the Majors on three occasions but never got into a game before being designated for assignment and outrighted back to Indianapolis. He re-signed on a minor league pact this winter and has had a very strong start to the year, firing 40 innings of 2.48 ERA ball with an outstanding 31-to-4 K/BB ratio in the Triple-A rotation. Luebke had faced 23 batters and allowed 12 of them to reach in what was his first big league action since 2012 due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries. Diaz had elbow surgery earlier this season and will be out until later this summer.

• Robbie Grossman will remain with the Indians and go to Triple-A, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link).  The team informed Grossman a few days ago that he didn’t make the team, and Grossman’s minor league deal allowed him to opt out and become a free agent if he wasn’t on the roster.  Grossman played just 24 games with Houston last season and was released in November as the Astros decided to go with other outfield options.
• Left-hander Cory Luebke has made the Pirates’ bullpen, Bucs GM Neal Huntington told reporters (including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Luebke hasn’t thrown a big league pitch since 2012 due to two Tommy John surgeries and other injuries, though he impressed many as a non-roster invitee in Pittsburgh’s camp.  Luebke had the option of opting out of his minor league contract if he wasn’t placed on the Opening Day roster.  With Matt Joyce also making the team, Brink notes in another tweet that the Pirates will have to make at least two 40-man roster moves to create spaces for both Joyce and Luebke.

• It was previously reported that lefty Cory Luebke’s opt-out was yesterday, but it’s actually today, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. That means the Bucs will have to decide today whether Luebke has made their bullpen. It appears likely he will after a spring in which the previously injury-ravaged Luebke earned praise for his stuff, including a 94-MPH fastball and hard breaking ball.
• The Pirates appear to be pursuing a new model for their starting pitching reclamation projects, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Previously, they looked for pitchers with good fastballs and the ability to get strikeouts, and tried to help them with their command. But Vogelsong and Niese don’t fit that model, Sawchik notes (although it certainly looks like Nicasio does). “Jonathan might be of a different style than pitchers we acquired in the past,” says GM Neal Huntington. “But if you only stick to (one model) especially at the major league level, especially given how the market has evolved, you are really going to limit your options.”
• Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chronicles the baseball career of Bucs manager Clint Hurdle, which he began as a phenom with the Royals. Hurdle was mostly a bust as a player, and he fought a long battle with alcoholism, but he reemerged on the other side as a manager and is now one of the game’s most respected.

Here’s some news from around the NL Central…

• The Brewers announced several roster moves today, including the news that Will Middlebrooks, Eric Young Jr., Josmil Pinto, Shane Peterson, Manny Pina and Jake Elmore were told they won’t be making the Major League roster (Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the rundown of all the transactions).  All six players will remain in the Brewers’ camp.  Five of the six were new arrivals this winter — Pina was part of the Francisco Rodriguez trade with the Tigers, Pinto was a waiver claim from the Padres, and Middlebrooks, Young and Elmore were all minor league signings.
• Jeff Samardzija told ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers that he met with Theo Epstein this winter to explore a possible return to the Cubs,  though not much came from the talks.  “From where we were at, it takes a lot more to get a deal done. I think Theo had an idea of what they wanted and what they were looking for this year,” Samardzija said.  The new Giants rotation member also discusses his previous stint with the Cubs and how the club’s rebuilding process has seemed to pay off.
• The Pirates reinvested in their bullpen this winter, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes, a strategy that makes an increasing amonut of financial and statistical sense, particularly for mid-market payroll clubs like the Bucs.
• Now that Eric O’Flaherty has been traded to Atlanta, it looks like Cory Luebke is going to make the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets.  The 31-year-old has reportedly clocking in at 94mph with his fastball and 87mph with his curve this spring.  Luebke has an opt-out on Tuesday but it sounds like the Bucs won’t give opposing teams a chance to snatch him up.
• Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that the team’s decision on Rule 5 right-hander Matt Bowman “could come down to the final hour,” as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes.  The Cardinals selected Bowman off of the Mets’ roster in December, making him their first Rule 5 selection in four years.  Roughly two weeks ago, ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin reported that Bowman was “more likely than not” to make the cut in St. Louis.
• Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo will be taking a medical leave of absence to recover from offseason knee surgery, the club told reporters today (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Manager Mike Matheny said the Cards are preparing as if Oquendo will miss the entire season, and several members of the St. Louis coaching staff have shuffled positions.
• The Reds have some decisions to make before Opening Day, as C. Trent Rosecrans and Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer project the club’s 25-man roster.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

• There was plenty of news out of Brewers camp today, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Top reliever Will Smith is experiencing knee swelling and could miss the start of the season. That would leave Jeremy Jeffress as the obvious choice to handle the 9th while Smith works back to full speed.
• Brewers Rule 5 pick Zack Jones has had shoulder issues all spring long and is going to start out on the DL. That could actually make it easier to keep him, as the team can bring him along slowly and give him some minor league time on a rehab assignment before exposing him to the majors.
• The lower back soreness experienced recently by Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun appears to be an increasing concern. Manager Craig Counsell suggested that the team will exercise caution, but doesn’t expect the problem to disappear in the next few days. “We may have to manage this into the season,” said Counsell. “That’s becoming apparent now.”
• Outfielder Shane Victorino discussed his status with the Cubs with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It appears he’s still deciding whether to remain in the organization, but doesn’t seem inclined to retire. “I just still want to play the game I love,” Victorino said. “We all want to do that forever, but this time I really felt like I had made a turn for the better this offseason, going back to switch-hitting.” He added that he wouldn’t hesitate to call it quits if he felt otherwise, saying: “I am my hardest critic, so if I feel like I am done, no one would need to make that decision for me.”
• Pirates lefty Cory Luebke has an opt-out date of Tuesday the 29th, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. That’ll be an interesting situation to monitor, as Luebke has reportedly been fairly impressive in camp — as we covered last night.

• Free agent righty Ross Ohlendorf has garnered multiple offers and could sign with a team as early as today, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link).  Ohlendorf might even land a guaranteed Major League deal, Cotillo suggests.  The 33-year-old opted out of his minor league contract with the Royals earlier this week, and the club subsequently released him.  Ohlendorf, an eight-year veteran, threw 19 1/3 innings in relief for Texas last season and put up a 3.72 ERA, 8.84 K/9 and 3.26 BB/9.  It’s worth noting that his average fastball velocity in 2015 was 93.7, a solid increase over his career mean (92.0).
• The Marlins are one of the teams connected to Ohlendorf, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com reports.  Miami took a hit to its bullpen with the news that Carter Capps will miss all of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, so it makes sense that the Fish would be looking at relief help.  Jim Benedict, the newly-hired Marlins VP of pitching development, is familiar with Ohlendorf from their shared time in the Pirates organization.
• The Astros’ trade for Ken Giles surprised many in the industry, ESPN’s Jayson Stark writes, particularly since dealing five young players for a reliever seemed so counter to Jeff Luhnow’s strategy since taking over Houston’s front office.  Three factors seemed to fuel the trade — the Astros’ bullpen meltdown in last year’s ALDS, the trend around the game for a lockdown relief corps for late in games, and Giles’ own unique promise as a long-term star closer.
• Pirates lefty Cory Luebke has scouts “buzzing,” tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who notes that the 31-year-old is hitting 94mph with his fastball and 87mph with his curve this spring.  Luebke has an out clause in the minor league contract he signed with the Pirates last month, meaning he could be available to sign anywhere soon if he doesn’t win a spot in the Bucs’ bullpen.  Luebke last pitched in the majors in 2012, having since undergone a pair of Tommy John surgeries.  His most extensive action came as a Padre in 2011, when he tossed 139.2 innings of 3.29 ERA ball to accompany an outstanding 9.92 K/9 and 2.84 BB/9.  San Diego then signed the seemingly emerging starter to a four-year, $12MM extension, only for Luebke to fall victim to injuries.  Luebke finally returned to the field last June to throw seven innings at three different minor league levels in the Padres organization, but a flexor strain diagnosis and a subsequent minor forearm surgery brought an end to his season.

Connor Byrne also contributed to this post

Now 30 years old (31 in March), Luebke had an impressive rookie season back in 2011, logging a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings out of the San Diego rotation. That was enough for the former Padres front office regime to roll the dice on a potentially team-friendly contract of four years and $12MM plus a pair of club options. Had both options been exercised, the Padres would’ve controlled Luebke through the end of his first would-be free-agent year, and he’d have earned $27.75MM in total over the life of the deal. Unfortunately for both team and player, Luebke never got the chance to build on that strong rookie showing, as he pitched just 31 innings in 2012 before succumbing to injury. He’ll now look to follow the path of many other pitchers before him and breathe new life into his career as a member of the Pirates organization.

Luebke, 31 in March, has started 25 MLB games and has 30 relief appearances to his credit.  Therefore, the Blue Jays could be eyeing the 2007 first-round draft pick as a rotation option or as a bullpen piece.  It’s not clear exactly how much interest there is at this time, however.  So far this winter, Toronto has addressed the starting five with deals for J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, and Jesse Chavez.

Luebke hasn’t pitched since the 2012 season due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries that have derailed his once promising career.  The pitcher’s most recent Tommy John comeback was halted when a flexor strain slowed him in Triple-A, and he eventually had surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.  In November, the Padres declined their $7.5MM option on Luebke, opting instead to pay him a $1.75MM buyout.

Needless to say, that’s not how the Padres saw things playing out when they inked Luebke to a four-year, $12MM contract following his strong rookie season in 2011.  Luebke logged a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 139 2/3 innings that season, and the modest $12MM guarantee on his four-year pact would’ve bought out a pair of pre-arb seasons as well as his first two arbitration years while giving San Diego control of his final arb year at $7.5MM and his first free agent year at $10MM. Had Luebke remained healthy for even a couple of years, he likely could’ve delivered more than $12MM worth of value, but he’s pitched just 31 Major League innings since signing at the end of Spring Training 2012. While the deal seemed club-friendly at the time, it serves as a reminder that even contracts that look to favor the team on the surface can ultimately result in misses.

Luebke, though, has five-plus years of Major League service time and is therefore still under team control via arbitration. However, he’d have to make at least 80 percent of the $5.25MM that he earned in 2015, making it highly unlikely that the club would retain him via that process. It’s possible that Luebke could be passed through outright waivers, at which point his service time would afford him the right to elect free agency. San Diego could then work out a new minor league deal after that fact.

The Padres have interest in keeping Luebke around, it would seem, as MLB.com’s Corey Brock quotes GM A.J. Preller: “I think we’re going to talk to him about it and get his sense for it. As I explained to him, talking about our club and our needs, any left-handed pitching we’re going to be on the look for.” Luebke wasn’t surprised by the decision, he told Brock and Lin in their respective pieces, but the 30-year-old still hopes to return to the Padres for his age-31 season. “I still have a chance to do something special,” Luebke told Brock. “…I still believe there’s going to be a happy ending with all of this.”

Suffice it to say, this isn’t how the Padres expected Luebke’s four-year, $12MM contract to play out when they locked him up after a strong rookie season in 2011. Luebke logged a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 139 2/3 innings that season, and the modest $12MM guarantee on his four-year pact would’ve bought out a pair of pre-arb seasons as well as his first two arbitration years while giving San Diego control of his final arb year at $7.5MM and his first free agent year at $10MM. Had Luebke remained healthy for even a couple of years, he likely could’ve delivered more than $12MM worth of value, but he’s pitched just 31 Major League innings since signing at the end of Spring Training 2012. While the deal seemed club-friendly at the time, it serves as a reminder that even contracts that look to favor the team on the surface can ultimately result in misses.

• Giants outfielder Hunter Pence appears to be nearing a return from the DL in the fairly near future, possibly before the All-Star break, MLB.com’s Oliver Macklin writes. San Francisco has dropped back to .500 and could certainly use a jolt from the dynamic Pence, not least of which because the club is also missing fellow corner outfielder Norichika Aoki. Assuming Pence can avoid another setback with his wrist and re-entrench himself in right field, the club would have a much less pressing need for an additional outfielder.
• Padres lefty Cory Luebke has suffered a setback in his bid to return from a second successive Tommy John procedure, Corey Brock of MLB.com reports. For now, it’s just elbow discomfort, but the team was concerned enough to bring the 30-year-old back to San Diego from his rehab assignment in Triple-A. Luebke has not pitched in the big leagues in over three years, though he has finally seen competitive action in the minors for the first time since originally blowing out his UCL.
• Another once-promising player who is on a long road back is Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar, who was once one of the game’s very best prospects. As Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News writes, Profar remains staggeringly young given how long he’s been on the scene and out with shoulder issues. He’ll still only be 23 come next spring. Profar remains a long way from returning to the big leagues, says Fraley, who notes that he is progressing through daily rehab sessions and monthly MRI tests.

• Diamondbacks prospect Peter O’Brien — acquired in last summer’s Martin Prado deal — says he believes his shift out of a catching role has helped him to a strong start offensively, Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic reports. It remains to be seen whether Arizona will look to move him back behind the dish at some point — he did finally don the gear for the first time this year recently — but it sounds as if O’Brien may be ready to embrace a more permanent change. “Catching is a lot of fun, but I really enjoy the outfield and I definitely think that my bat is my biggest strength,” O’Brien said. “I think that plays a little bit better in the outfield.”
• This year’s amateur draft figures to feature a lot of moving parts, and it’s still months away. But that didn’t stop Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Baseball America’s John Manuel from taking a shot at early mock drafts. The analysts disagree somewhat on the direction the Diamondbacks will take with the first overall pick, with McDaniel tabbing Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson (a shift from another recent post, reflecting the uncertainty) and Manuel pointing to UCSB righty Dillon Tate. Neither of those highly-regarded players would represent a big surprise in that slot, of course, as both have consistently been listed as amongst the consensus three best players available along with high school shortstop Brendan Rogers.
• MLB.com’s Barry Bloom checks in with Padres hurler Cory Luebke, who is diligently working back from his second Tommy John surgery and is hoping to throw live BP within the next few weeks. “I’m making progress,” Luebke said. “It’s been a long haul, but it’s the best place I’ve been in for the last few years. It’s exciting, but if I’ve learned anything it’s not to ride the roller coaster. Take a week at a time. But I definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel a little bit.” Luebke is in the final guaranteed year of his four-year, $12MM extension, though San Diego holds successive club options ($7.5MM and $10MM, respectively, over his next two seasons).