As they prepare to gear up for the offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates started doing some roster cleaning on Thursday.
The Bucs declined a club option on right-hander Radhames Liz, making him a free agent.
Pirates’ general manager Neal Huntington took a gamble on the 32-year old Liz this past offseason and it turned out to be one of the few moves Huntington has made during the past few years that didn’t pan out.
Liz received a Major League deal with a $1 million guarantee with the Bucs last winter despite not pitching in the big leagues since 2009.
He only pitched 23.1 innings out of the Pirates bullpen in 2015 and finished with a 4.24 ERA with a 27-to-12 K/BB ratio. Liz’s fastball was impressive though, averaging 94.7 miles per hour with his heater.
He did have success at the Triple-A level, going 4-5 with a 1.40 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. That, along with his fastball should pique the interest of other teams around the majors.
In other Pirates news, right-hander Casey Sadler had Tommy John Surgery.
Sadler made his first career major league start on April 12, pitching five innings and earning the first win of his career in a 10–2 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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