The Pirates are going to the independent leagues to try to find extra pitching, signing Henderson Alvarez of the Milwaukee Milkmen.
Robert Murray was the first with the signing. The minor-league deal is pending on the 30-year-old passing a physical.
On Saturday afternoon, Ben Cherington said the Pirates were "focused externally on acquiring more pitching depth."
"We’re working on both fronts.," Cherington said, alluding to getting more stability from their internal pitching options as well. "Hopefully over the next few days, we’ll have some progress on both of those things – both getting guys into a better spot internally and also hopefully finding some ways to supplement that externally.”
Alvarez has already had success in the majors, throwing a no-hitter for the Marlins in 2013 and earning an All-Star nod in 2014, but shoulder injuries have limited to just seven major-league appearances since his All-Star campaign.
He has not pitched in the majors since 2017. He pitched in the class AAA Mexican league and with the Nationals' AAA team in 2019, recording 5.94 ERA over 53 innings pitched.
According to Ricardo Torres of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Henderson has been clocked at 98 mph since joining the Milkmen. That is significantly higher than before, where he averaged roughly 93 mph on his fastball in his best years in the majors.
The Pirates have an open spot on their 60-man player pool after placing Phillip Evans on the 45-day injured list Sunday. They would need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for him to pitch in the majors.
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