Spring training is quickly approaching with the Super Bowl behind us, but the Pirates are not done making minor roster moves to get ready for the coming season. Last night they picked up Steve Lombardozzi from the Orioles for cash in move unrelated to the Travis Snider trade, and today they’ve acquired Arquimedes Caminero from the Marlins in a similar deal after Caminero was DFA by the Marlins last week.
Lombardozzi is yet another utility infielder in an off-season in which the Pirates have seemingly acquired a utility infielder twice a month. With the Nats and Orioles in the last four seasons, he’s played a bunch of second base, a bit of left field, a small amount of third base, and two games at shortstop. His advanced defensive stats suggest that he’s competent at second and in left, though a sample size caveat applies. He’s not much to write home about at the plate; he played quite a bit for the Nats in 2012 and 2013 and only hit .267/.301/.347 with 31 doubles, four triples, and five homers in 723 plate appearances. In short: he’s a depth option and with Jung-ho Kang and Sean Rodriguez already filling similar roles, I would assume that he’s basically around as injury insurance.
Caminero seems like a pretty typical Neal Huntington bullpen project acquisition. He’s racked up some impressive upper minors strikeout totals and reportedly can hit 100+ mph with his fastball, but he’s got a bit of a funky delivery that means that his command is very inconsistent. Obviously it’s not a sure thing that the Pirates’ coaching staff can “fix” him, but this sort of thing sounds like the exact sort of problem they’re good at working with, and with an open roster spot, it doesn’t hurt to bring him in and give him a look in camp.
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