The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated right-hander Chad Beck -- a recent waiver claim -- for assignment, reports Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

#Pirates designate for assignment RHP Chad Beck

— Michael Sanserino (@msanserino) December 26, 2012

The Pirates had selected Beck off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in late October. His clearance from the roster likely makes room for one of the four new acquisitions -- Mark Melancon, Jerry Sands, Ivan De Jesus or Stolmy Pimentel -- in the Joel Hanrahan trade.

Beck, 27, was a 14th round pick in the 2006 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2008, he was traded to the Blue Jays in a one-for-one deal for infielder David Eckstein. Beck quickly made his way through Toronto's minor-league system, earning his first shot at the big leagues in late 2011.

The right-hander has just 18 big-league innings to his name so far and a 5.50 ERA to go along with it. He spent a large majority of the 2012 season at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.31 ERA and 4.5 K/9 rate in 48 innings.