The Pirates have claimed pitcher Hayden Penn off of waivers from the Marlins this afternoon. Once upon a time, Penn was a good prospect in the Orioles’ system, but he’s lost most of his luster by now thanks to a rash of injuries (I’m looking for specifics so they’re hard to find, he’s consistently referred to as “hard luck”) that have hurt his performance. He’s only 25, though, and he’s still supposed to have decent stuff so this isn’t necessarily a bad move.
What makes it particularly interesting is that a corresponding move will have to come to place him on the 40-man roster. There was already going to be something of a roster crunch with NRIs Jack Taschner possibly Vinnie Chulk and Eric Kratz (to allow Jaramillo to play regularly in Triple-A) making the team, but moving Jose Ascanio back to the 60-day DL was going to free up one spot. Since a move here has to be immediate, there’s a good chance that someone like Chris Jakubauskas, Brandon Moss, John Raynor, or Ramon Vazquez doesn’t end the day as a Pirate.
UPDATE: It’s Moss who’s gone. Well, placed on waivers and presumably gone. This is relevant to that promised season preview post I promised earlier this morning (which is still coming, it’s just that there’s actually been some news today). And since people might be interested, here are Penn’s minor league numbers. Also, welcome to the Pirates, John Raynor (or maybe JR Jr.). It’s pretty much official that he’ll make the team now.
