CHICAGO — After a half-season of bad pitching and injury, Antonio Bastardo was designated for assignment Saturday.
The move removes the 31-year-old left-hander from the Pirates’ 40-man roster. They have 10 days to trade or release Bastardo or, if he clears waivers, they can send him outright to the minors. But Bastardo has enough service time to reject such an assignment and still collect the remainder of his $6.5 million salary.
Bastardo made nine appearances for the Pirates this season and kept the opponent off the board in only one of them. He allowed 15 runs, 16 hits (five of them home runs) and nine walks in nine innings, good or a 15.