A team desperate for help in any form brought on some more much-needed depth via a free-agent signing on Monday.
Per Robert Murray of MLB.com, the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a deal with relief pitcher Jandel Gustave, pending a physical. The news was confirmed by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Gustave, in limited work across parts of three seasons, has posted a very respectable 3.43 earned run average. He made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 2016 and pitched in portions of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Gustave spent all of the 2018 season recovering from right elbow surgery. and he became a free agent following the season. He signed a minor-league contract with the San Francisco Giants in February of 2019, eventually making it to the big leagues again that same season.
Over 24.1 major league innings pitched in 2019, Gustave recorded an excellent 2.96 ERA with 14 strikeouts. He failed to make the Giants' 2020 Opening Day roster, and he was eventually designated for assignment on August 2.
It is likely that Gustave will initially report to the team's alternate training site in Altoona. Per MLB.com's Adam Berry, the team sent reliever Cody Ponce to Altoona, thus freeing up a spot in the bullpen prior to this week's series at PNC Park with the Cleveland Indians.
Henderson Alvarez, the former National League All-Star who had reportedly signed with the Pirates on August 9, will not be signing with the team, as he will return to the Milwaukee Milkmen, an independent club.
Late Sunday evening, Alvarez tweeted, "Good night, I want you to know that the signing with the pirates did not materialize, I return to the independent league again, reasons why they signed another player, I'm still looking for a new opportunity and we're still here working hard @MKEMilkmen Good Return"
It is unclear whether or not Gustave is in fact the player that Alvarez referenced in his tweet, but Mackey reported that a Pirates source he spoke with "does not agree with the characterization" that the reason for Alvarez's contract falling through is because of the signing of another player.
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