MIAMI — The latest meltdown by the Pirates' bullpen has prompted a change, as the club announced Friday it recalled right-handed reliever Kyle Crick and purchased the contract of right-hander Richard Rodriguez from Triple-A Indianapolis. To make room on the roster, left-hander Josh Smoker and right-hander Clay Holmes were optioned to Triple-A.
Although the move leaves the Pirates with only one left-handed reliever, they added two arms with different skillsets. Crick, 25, was acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade; however, he did not make the opening day roster after recording a 5.73 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 11 innings during spring training. Crick allowed one run with five strikeouts, no walks and one save in five appearances at Indianapolis.
Rodriguez, a 28-year-old signed as a minor-league free agent this offseason, had two multi-inning appearances at Triple-A, pitching a total of five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to two walks and only one hit allowed. He had a 0.95 WHIP in 7 1/3 innings during Grapefruit League play before being optioned to minor-league camp.
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