Pirates add Blanton, Soria to bullpen

The Pirates designated Worley for assignment Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The Pirates introduced the acquisition of Blanton final night time, as they traded for him with the Kansas City Royals for cash issues. But at least we have seen the resumption of the Vance Worley-Joe Blanton merry-go-round we used to see in Philadelphia, where they tended to replace each other on the roster and/or in the rotation on the regular. He was then signed by the Oakland A’s to a minor league deal in which he posted a 5.23 ERA with the Sacramento River Cats before announcing he’d put a cap on his career.

He is making $1 million this season.

“My plan was to never play again”, Blanton told reporters after arriving in the visitor’s clubhouse in Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark for the Pirates Thursday evening game against the Reds. The Pirates preferred him over Worley because he’s got more experience in the role.

“Usually it doesn’t happen that way”, Blanton said.

“He said he needed somebody to throw with, and I said, ‘You know what, I’ll throw with you, ‘” Blanton said.

Pittsburgh (59-41) now holds the top spot in the NL wild-card standings.

It’s not known if the Pirates plan to use Blanton as a starter or out of the bullpen, but the 34-year-old right-hander should provide pitching depth and solid innings for the Pirates as they look to challenge the Cardinals in the National League Central, and win their first playoff series (longer than one game) since 1979. “But I think that it’s very fortunate for me to go from in contention to in contention”.