The Pirates are designating reliever Tyler Bashlor for assignment, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to relay. The move opens 40-man roster space for infielder Wilmer Difo, whose previously-reported selection has been made official.
Bashlor, 27, has pitched 62.1 MLB innings with the Mets and Pirates over the past three seasons. He has only a 5.78 ERA with poor strikeout and walk rates (18.5% and 12%, respectively) in that time. Bashlor has been much better in the minors, with a 1.63 ERA in 38.2 Double-A innings and a 3.41 mark in 37 frames at Triple-A.
The Pirates have a week to trade Bashlor or place him on outright waivers. The hard-throwing righty still has a minor-league option remaining, so he can be shuttled back and forth between the majors and the alternate training site/Triple-A for the rest of the year if another team acquires him.