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The Phillies have announced that they’ve claimed veteran pitcher Juan Nicasio off of waivers from the Pirates. In turn, they’ve designated first baseman Brock Stassi for assignment to clear Nicasio’s spot on the 40-man roster.
Nicasio, who owns a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings this season, was surprisingly on outright waivers after being claimed and pulled back off revocable trade waivers.
Nicasio is set to hit free agency at the end of this season. He’s owed $600K through the end of the year. While the Phillies are beyond out of contention and don’t need Nicasio as the backbone of their late innings, he’ll provide a veteran presence in a young budding bullpen.
Pittsburg GM Neal Huntington acknowledged to Bill Brink of the Pittsburg Post-Gazette that the most was mostly to alleviate some salary and give the club a little extra cash to play with. It seems a little insane to let such a solid, cheap reliever depart to save less than $1 million, but the Pirates made the decision anyway.