Radhames Liz designated for assignment

Radhames Liz has been designated for assignment, this as per Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette.

Pirates designate Radhames Liz for assignment to make room for Charlie Morton on the active roster.
— Bill Brink (@Bill_Brink2) May 25, 2015

While it was very expected that Charlie Morton‘s return would necessitate a corresponding roster move, it is still a bit surprising to see that player to be Liz. In 11 appearances for the Pirates this season, Liz compiled a 3.63 ERA in 17.1 total innings of work. Working primarily as a long-reliever, Liz often found himself coming in in extra inning situations or blowouts. While Liz showed flashes of a classic power reliever with 18 strikeouts, it is perhaps his walk rate that has doomed him to this fate. Below is a game log of all of Liz’s appearances this year.

Date	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	Str
Apr 8	CIN	L,4-5	0.2	1	1	1	1	1	0	13.50	8
Apr 12	MIL	W,10-2	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0	5.40	10
Apr 21	CHC	L,8-9	1.0	2	1	1	0	2	1	6.75	13
Apr 23	CHC	W,5-4	2.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3.86	16
Apr 28	CHC	L,2-6	3.0	2	0	0	3	2	0	2.35	28
May	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	Str
May 3	STL	L,2-3	2.1	5	2	2	1	2	1	3.60	25
May 8	STL	L,5-8	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3.27	9
May 14	PHI	L,2-4	3.0	2	1	1	2	3	1	3.21	27
May 15	CHC	L,10-11	0.1	2	1	1	2	1	0	3.77	7
May 19	MIN	L,5-8	2.0	2	1	1	0	2	0	3.86	13
May 23	NYM	W,8-2	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3.63	10
			17.1	20	7	7	10	18	3	3.63

As we can see here, Liz often felt the brunt of some tough walk off or late inning losses. Yet even considering this strikeout potential, it became clear to all that his walk rate and propensity for giving up the long ball made him a liability more often than not. With this news, Vance Worley figured to take over the role of long man in Liz’s stead. This comes after Clint Hurdle stated that Worley will be in the bullpen for the foreseeable future.

As David Todd points out, Liz’s contract may be too prohibitive for another team to take a chance on.

Radhames Liz signed a $1M major league deal. Pitched in 11 games, 17.1 innings. 18Ks, 10BB, 1.731 WHIP. Contract may mean he clears waivers.
— David Todd (@DTonPirates) May 25, 2015

Next: Charlie Morton to make first start of 2015

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