Pirates place Doumit on DL, recall Chavez

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-- The Pirates today placed catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list because of his fractured left thumb and promoted Raul Chavez from Class AAA Indianapolis to replace him.

Chavez, 35, is a .212 batter in 169 career major league games, most recently appearing in 16 for the Baltimore Orioles in 2006. He has a good defensive reputation, including one of the strongest arms of any catcher in professional baseball.

The selection of his contract from Indianapolis, where he batted .306 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, fills the Pirates' 40-man roster.

It is not yet known how long Doumit might be out. He is being examined today in Pittsburgh.

 

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Salas promoted

The Pirates promoted reliever Marino Salas from Class AAA Indianapolis -- and added him to the 40-man roster -- to fill the vacancy left by the Monday optioning of John Van Benschoten.

For Salas, one of two relievers general manager Neal Huntington acquired from Milwaukee in the Salomon Torres trade Dec. 7, the experience in Major League Baseball is his first. He pitched only 14 games above Class AA in the Brewers' system.

"I'm very excited, very happy," he said.

Salas, 26, had a 0.77 ERA and struck out 20 in 23 1/3 innings, a performance that he and others are partially crediting to Indianapolis pitching coach Ray Searage and minor-league pitching coordinator Troy Buckley. Searage and Buckley helped Salas restructure his mechanics, with an aim of keeping all four pitches -- an unusually rich arsenal for a reliever -- down in the zone.

"I had a lot of help," Salas said. "Ray really helped me."

The 40-man roster is at 39.



Why not Chavez?

Huntington acknowledged it was a "very tough decision" choosing between Salas and Jesse Chavez, Indianapolis' other standout reliever. Chavez has a 1.61 ERA and 23 strikeouts in as many innings.

Management's thinking was that Chavez, who had a similar level of adjustment made to his delivery, could use more time for repetition.
Buried treasure

? Huntington said the fate of Rule 5 draft pick Evan Meek will be determined today. The Pirates and Tampa Bay, Meek's original team, are trying to work out a trade that would keep Meek in the Pirates' system. If not, the Rays could reclaim him for $25,000.

? Long relief duties will be shared by Franquelis Osoria, Sean Burnett and Salas. "All of them can go multiple innings," manager John Russell said.