Daniel Bard lands minors deal with Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander Daniel Bard have agreed to a minor-league contract.
Bard, once an effective setup man in 2010 with the Boston Red Sox, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2013. He caught on with the Texas Rangers in the winter of 2014 following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, but was shelled in four minor-league appearances - he allowed 13 runs while pitching for the Single-A Hickory Crawdads - which ultimately led to his release in June of 2014.
BARD'S MLB STATS - 5 SEASONS
| IP | ERA | FIP | HLD | SO9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 257.1 | 3.67 | 3.96 | 79 | 8.8 |
The 30-year-old will be an excellent reclamation project for highly regarded pitching coach Ray Searage, who has previously helped revitalize the careers of Edinson Volquez, A.J. Burnett, and Francisco Liriano, among others.
"It was a pretty easy decision," Bard told MLB.com's Adam Berry. "Obviously, they've done a good job with guys in similar shoes to me, rebounding their careers a little bit. ... You've just seen it time and time again: Guys come here, they seem to help out the Pirates a lot and the Pirates seem to help them out a lot."