Justin Masterson

Pirates sign Justin Masterson to minors deal

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed pitcher Justin Masterson to a minor league contract.

What It Means:

Another reclamation project for Pirates' pitching coach Ray Searage. Masterson registered an ugly 5.61 ERA in 18 appearances last season for the Boston Red Sox, and he had a 5.88 ERA between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians in 2014. He'll head to Triple-A Indianapolis initially.

Masterson had a SIERA of 4.36 last season, which was the highest of his career, in 18 appearances. His strikeout percentage of 18.0 percent last year was below his career average of 19.2 percent.