The Pittsburgh Pirates added some pitching depth to a depleted core by signing a once promising talent on Sunday afternoon.
Per Robert Murray of The Athletic, the team has signed free-agent pitcher Henderson Alvarez, pending a physical to a minor-league contract. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed the report, stating that Alvarez will report to the alternate training site in Altoona.
Alvarez has posted a career 3.82 earned run average with 302 strikeouts across 557.2 innings of work. He made his debut in August of 2011 with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he would pitch over the course of the next two seasons.
Alvarez was part of the massive November 2012 trade between the Miami Marlins/Toronto Blue Jays blockbuster trade. Alvarez, along with Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jeff Mathis, Anthony DeSclafani, Jake Marisnick and Justin Nicolino were sent to the Marlins in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes.
In his first season with the Marlins, Alvarez pitched to a very solid 3.59 ERA. In the final game of that 2013 campaign, Alvarez pitched a no-hitter, and Miami won the game over the Detroit Tigers on a walkoff wild pitch.
Alvarez carried that success to 2014, where he notched 12 wins and a 2.65 ERA, even earning a National League All-Star appearance. He would struggle in four 2015 starts and missed the entire 2016 season while recovering from right shoulder surgery.
Alvarez latched on with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he last pitched in the big leagues in 2017. In 14.2 innings pitched for Philadelphia, Alvarez posted a 4.30 ERA with a sloppy six strikeouts and 11 walks.
Prior to the signing, Alvarez had been pitching for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.
As for the product currently on-field, the Pirates lost to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday by a 2-1 score, remaining the league's worst team with a 3-13 record.
The team also announced that their entire series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium has been postponed due to St. Louis' COVID-19 outbreak.
Pittsburgh is next scheduled to play on Thursday, when they will begin a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
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