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The Pirates have acquired utilityman Sean Rodriguez from the Braves for Connor Joe, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and FanRag’s Tommy Stokke. Pittsburgh had put in a claim on Rodriguez while he was on revocable waivers.
Rodriguez, 32, signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal with Atlanta last winter but missed the first half of the season due to injuries sustained in a serious car accident. He appeared in just 15 games as a member of the Braves, hitting .162/.326/.351 with two homers in that span.
Rodriguez returns to Pittsburgh, where he spent the 2015 and 2016 campaigns and hit .260/.321/.447 in 279 games. He has the ability to play pretty much anywhere other than pitcher or catcher and will once again provide a valuable depth option for the third-place Pirates.
Joe, 24, was taken 39th overall by the Bucs in 2014 and has the ability to play both corner infield spots as well as in the outfield. He has spent the vast majority of this season at Double-A, hitting .240/.338/.380 in 74 games.
Joe was not ranked among MLB.com’s listing of Pittsburgh’s top 30 prospects.