Pittsburgh Pirates Make a Pair of Roster Moves, DFA Rob Zastryzny

Ji Man Choi has returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but two more players have hit the injured list in a flurry of roster moves

Prior to the start of their three-game weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks the Pittsburgh Pirates were busy making roster moves. These roster moves included three injury related moves and a player being designated for assignment.

First baseman/designated hitter Ji Man Choi was activated off the 60-day injured list and reliever Cody Bolton was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. To make room for them on the active roster both Andrew McCutchen and Ke'Bryan Hayes were placed on the 10-day IL.

Prior to going on the IL, Choi was hitting .125/.125/.344 with a 14 wRC+ in 32 plate appearances with the Pirates. In 39 PAs during his rehab stint Choi hit for a .323/.436/.710 slash line. With McCutchen being placed on the IL, Choi will likely DH most days for the Pirates for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, McCutchen's IL stint does not come as a surprise after he hit his elbow off the ground while getting out of the way of a high and tight pitch on Wednesday night and clearly being in discomfort. As for Hayes, he returns to the IL one day after being activated off the IL.

Since Choi was coming off the 60-day IL a 40-man roster spot needed to be made to activate him. To make room for Choi on the 40-man roster left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny was activated off the IL and then designated for assignment.

Zastryzny posted a 5.29 ERA, 4.82 FIP, and both a 15.7% walk/strikeout rate in 17 MLB innings piched this season. On his rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis Zastryzny also struggled, posting a 9.82 ERA, 7.67 FIP, and a 2.45 HR/9 in 3.2 innings pitched.

Bolton owns an 11.00 ERA, 8.07 FIP, 2.00 HR/9, 18.5% walk rate, and a 14.8% strikeout rate in 9.0 MLB innings pitched this season. This is Bolton's third MLB stint of the season. At Triple-A, Bolton owns a 3.03 ERA and a 3.01 FIP in 29.2 innings pitched.