The Pittsburgh Pirates have officially activated Pedro Alvarez from the Bereavement list. To make room for Alvarez, they have designated reliever Ernesto Frieri for assignment. Frieri acquired in the Jason Grilli trade, has been a disaster for the Pirates with a 10.13 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in 14 appearances.
Frieri broke Paul Goldschmidt’s hand Friday night with an inside pitch that led to the Diamondbacks retaliating the next night and hitting Andrew McCutchen with a 95 mph fastball in his back. Two days later McCutchen was diagnosed with a fractured rib and remains out of the lineup.