Pittsburgh Pirates designate former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher for assignment

Pirates manager Don Kelly tells the team's beat (link via Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

The corresponding move to open a 26-man roster spot for righty Johan Oviedo, who'll make his first major league start in nearly two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the 2023-24 offseason.

Pittsburgh signed the 28 year-old Cabrera to a major league contract back in June.

He'd opened the year on a minor league deal with the Mets, was added to the roster and was subsequently designated for assignment.

The Cubs signed Cabrera to a big league deal shortly thereafter, and a similar sequence played out as he was designated, became a free agent, and signed a big league deal with the Buccos.

In 28 innings this season, Cabrera has pitched to a 5.79 ERA. That includes a 4.91 earned run average in 11 innings as a Pirate.

Cabrera yielded six runs on a dozen hits and a walk with seven strikeouts during his five to six weeks in Kelly's bullpen.

In 28 innings this season, Cabrera has pitched to a 5.79 ERA. That includes a 4.91 earned run average in 11 innings as a Pirate.

Cabrera yielded six runs on a dozen hits and a walk with seven strikeouts during his five to six weeks in Kelly's bullpen.

The hard-throwing Cabrera has been erratic in his career, but the bottom-line results in 303 2/3 big league frames are decent.

He sports a lifetime 4.06 ERA in the majors, and his 22.1% strikeout rate isn't too far shy of league-average for a reliever.

Cabrera's 10.9% walk rate is high but not quite egregiously so. He's typically posted above-average swinging-strike rates and slightly below-average ground-ball rates.

Cabrera will now head to either outright waivers or release waivers. Since the trade deadline has come and gone, there's no alternative for the Bucs to explore.

He'll be made available to the league's other 29 times in reverse order of leaguewide standings.