Pirates intensify 'pen competition, acquire Caminero
The Pirates stayed busy Wednesday by acquiring right-hander Arquimedes Caminero from the Marlins for cash, filling Pittsburgh's 40-man roster and adding another name to the spring bullpen competition.
Caminero, who had been designated for assignment by Miami, was 4-1 with 10 saves, a 4.86 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 42 appearances for Triple-A New Orleans last season. He had two brief stints in the Majors last April and May, and owns a 5.49 ERA in 19 appearances for the Marlins over the past two years.
Most of those games were in 2013, when Caminero made his Major League debut with the Marlins and posted a 2.77 ERA in 13 appearances. He also went 6-2 with seven saves and a 3.48 ERA in 43 Minor League appearances in 2013, striking out 69 batters in 54 1/3 innings of work between Double-A Jacksonville and New Orleans.
Scouting report
Caminero: The hard-throwing right-hander made his Major League debut in 2013 and was again called on to help the Marlins last year. Reaching the big leagues was the culmination of an arduous journey through the Minor Leagues that began with three seasons in the Dominican Summer League and was further delayed by Tommy John surgery in 2011. Strictly a reliever, Caminero struck out 79 batters and walked 30 in 63 innings for New Orleans in 2014. Pitchf/x has regularly clocked his fastball in excess of 99 mph, but he has struggled to control it throughout his career. If Caminero can throw more strikes, his fastball-slider combination is good enough to make him a late-innings reliever in the big leagues.
-- Teddy Cahill