According to Matt Gajtka of DK Pittsburgh Sports, the Pirates have re-signed right-handed starter Casey Sadler to a minor league contract. This report comes after Matt Eddy of Baseball America had tweeted on Friday that the Pirates had released Sadler on December 30th.
The #Pirates released RHP Casey Sadler on Dec. 30. He had Tommy John surgery in October, then outrighted off 40-man roster in November.
— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) January 9, 2016
Gatjka stated that General Manager Neal Huntington confirmed that Sadler was still with the team, but that the terms of the new deal were not announced.
Sadler had recently undergone Tommy John surgery this past November, but was previously used as a swing starter/reliever between Triple-A Indianapolis and the Pirates major league team. In 2014, Sadler pitched 10.1 innings in parts of six games and held a 7.84 ERA and was a negative win player. In 2015, Sadler made one spot start, pitching five innings and allowing two runs. Since that start, Sadler has not returned to the majors.
Sadler was set to miss all of the 2016 season after his surgery, and was scheduled to become a minor league free agent at the end of the season. Thus, it made sense that the Pirates chose to release him on December 30th.
The Pirates drafted Sadler in the 25th round of the 2010 draft. He holds a career 3.37 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP in his minor league career. Before he was placed on the disabled list, Sadler pitched to a 4.22 ERA in 81 innings of work at Indianapolis last season. Sadler will provide starting and relief depth for the major league club in 2017 and possibly beyond.
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