Pirates put A.J. Burnett on DL

J.A. Happ was brought in to join the starting rotation and we know whose spot he’ll take, at least for the short-term.

Trade Deadline Buzz: Tabata era is over, Pirates add Happ and Morse at the buzzer

TRADE DEADLINE BUZZ The Jose Tabata era is over. The Pittsburgh traded one DFA player for another, trading Tabata to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 1B/OF Michael Morse. Morse was designated for assignment after the Dodgers picked him up in the three-team deal with the Marlins and Braves. Morse hit .213/.276/.313 with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs in 53 games for the Marlins. In 2014, Morse hit .279/.336/.475 with 16 home runs, 61 RBIs for the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. Morse was 6-20 (.300) with a home run, 5 RBI in the post-season for the Giants. Morse is making $7 million this season and due $8 million in 2016.

Thumped by the Reds, Velocity is down and location remains poor for A.J. Burnett

A.J. Burnett was a disaster tonight vs the Reds as the red flags surrounding Burnett are not going away. Burnett was rocked for 10 hits and 8 runs in a 15-5 Pirates loss. The concern with Burnett was his velocity, in the 80’s for most of the night and his location which has been extremely poor since the All-Star break, continued to be off as he’s been throwing batting practice of late. Burnett has allowed 10 hits or more in three straight games and his numbers since the All-Star Break: 32 Hits Allowed, 19 Runs allowed. Despite the concerns with Burnett right now, GM Neal Huntington said tonight he doesn’t expect to add a starter by tomorrow’s deadline. “We don’t

Pirates have deal in place to acquire Joakim Soria

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a deal in place to acquire Detroit Tigers closer Joakim Soria. James Schmehl of MLive.com first reported the Pirates were close to acquiring Soria. Soria, 31, has 23 saves, 2.85 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP on the season. He is a free agent at seasons end. While Joe Blanton was pretty much a Vance Worley replacement, Soria will be a strong complement to Mark Melancon and Tony Watson.

Pirates DFA Vance Worley

The Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon designated Vance Worley for assignment to make room for Joe Blanton. Worley went 4-5 with a 3.78 ERA. He made 20 appearances, 8 starts. Worley is making $2.45 million, good chance he clears waivers. PIRATES LINEUP VS REDS 1. Gregory Polanco, RF 2. Starling Marte, LF 3. Andrew McCutchen, CF 4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B 5. Jung Ho Kang, SS 6. Francisco Cervelli, C 7. Pedro Alvarez, 1B 8. Neil Walker, 2B 9. A.J. Burnett, P

Daily 5: Game Changers go to AL; Scouts see Pens blueline being a disaster in the making?

 TIOPS DAILY FIVE *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions*  1. The Pirates have the farm system to acquire pretty much anyone they wanted on the trade market and Neal Huntington would have loved to have made another run at David Price,  but for whatever reason, there was no green light from ownership like last July to bring on that type of salary so the Pirates never seriously looked into Price like some in the organization had hoped they would. The good news at least for the Pirates is all the game changers went to the American League in Cole Hamels to Texas, Johnny Cueto to Kansas City and David Price, Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto. San Francisco reportedly made a late push for Hamels,

Daily 5: Who will be 3rd line center; Why teams were scared off to sign Fehr; Pirates, Steelers talk & more

TIOPS DAILY FIVE *Rumblings, Musings, Opinions* 1. Nick Bonino believes he’s going to be the third line center (he will to start the season) and Eric Fehr who is recovering from elbow surgery, believes he was signed to be the Penguins 3rd line center. So who will it be? Hard to predict on how things will play out by the time Fehr is ready to return which may not happen until December, but if things play out like the Penguins hope, Sergei Plotnikiov proves to be a the read deal and earns a top-6 spot, David Perron proves to be the player from January, and the Penguins are not forced to play Fehr or Bonino on the wing, the ideal

Source: Brandon Sutter to sign long-term extension with Canucks

NHL agent Craig Oster of Newport Sports represents both Brandon Sutter and Eric Fehr, and yesterday’s trade of Sutter to Vancouver and Fehr signing with Pittsburgh truly did go hand and hand. Over the past several days, the Sutter camp was granted permission to speak to the Canucks which helped facilitate the trade on Tuesday as the framework of a long-term deal between Sutter and the Canucks is already in place. Sutter plans to sign a long-term extension with the Canucks of at least five years and the deal is likely to be completed by the end of the week, according to a league source.

Pirates promoting top prospect Tyler Glasnow to Triple-A

Big news in Pirates circles as the team is promoting top prospect Tyler Glasnow to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to Piratesprospects.com. Glasnow, 21, is one of baseball’s premier prospects in the game, ranked by Baseball America as the 7th best prospect in baseball. Glasnow is 5-3 in Altoona this season with a 2.43 ERA and 82/19 K/BB ratio. 2015 Stats (Altoona-AA): 63.0 IP, 5-3, 2.43 ERA, 82 SO, 19 BB