DJ DJ!!!

Several sources have reported that the Pirates have inked former White Sox pitcher DJ Carrasco to a minor league deal. This is a very good signing for the Pirates who are trying to shore up their bullpen for the 2010 season.

Carrasco put up some pretty solid numbers in Chicago last season out of the bullpen. He was 5-1 with a 3.76 ERA and striking out 62 batters. He isn't a dominant pitcher by any means, but he should hopefully be consistent as a middle reliever. The only major area of concern is his WHIP 1.414, that is definitely a little high, and hopefully it comes down to his 2008 number of 1.138.

A lot of people think this move signifies that Octavio Dotel will be signing with the Pirates fairly soon as he and Carrasco were teammates in Chicago and from what I've heard are pretty good friends. Obviously baseball is a business, but you never know. Dotel would be a very good signing for the Pirates and would definitely shore up the bullpen for 2010.

I have been critical of Neal Huntington in the past, but so far this offseason he has remained true to his word in trying to find decent, but low cost options for the bullpen. He isn't signing A-List relievers, but the players he is signing are definitely better than what we would have had if we just stuck to our internal options. Don't mistake me, I don't think we're going to all of a sudden be a 90-win team, but right now the Pirates should put a better team on the field in 2010 than the one that ended the 2009 season.