The Pirates re-acquired Indians’ utility infielder Josh Rodriguez today for cash considerations. Rodriguez, you’ll certainly recall, was picked by the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft for middle infield depth, made the team in a minor move that upset the hell out of people for some reason, then was returned to the Indians when Brandon Wood became available on the waiver wire. He hasn’t played much since then and he hasn’t hit well in Triple-A, though I’m fairly certain he’s been hurt.
He’ll be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, which is where he belongs (I briefly hoped that he was going to replace Ciriaco on the roster, but if he did he’d be every bit as much a wasted, buried roster space as Ciriaco is). It makes sense; with Pedro Ciriaco and Josh Harrison in Pittsburgh the Pirates can use the depth in the infield in Indianapolis (especially if Chase D’Arnaud ever gets the call-up he deserves) as Brian Friday and Andy Marte are playing second and third regularly and neither has been particularly good. Rodriguez seemed like a useful acquisition in the Rule 5 and he probably still is. Really, though, it’s a pretty minor move that would probably just be a blip on the radar had he not been in a Pirate uniform earlier this year.
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