Meek inherits spot on Pittsburgh roster

The 24-year old can throw in the high 90s, but has also improved his control.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Evan Meek probably wanted to race around the Pittsburgh Pirates’ clubhouse, pumping every hand he saw and reveling in the moment he long worried would never come. Finally, he was a major leaguer.

Meek was more restrained than that upon learning Friday he had made the Pirates’ 25-man roster, but he didn’t try to hide the emotion of the moment.

Meek, released by the Minnesota Twins several years ago and then left unprotected by Tampa Bay in the December’s winter-meeting draft, had many people to call and lot of happiness to spill.

“This is the best day of my life,” said the 24-year-old Meek, who begins the season as one of four right-handers in the Pirates’ bullpen. “I’ve been kind of stressed the last couple of days. ... It’s just amazing. I’ve got to keep in mind that the work doesn’t stop. It only gets harder, but I can’t begin to tell you how I feel.”

His voice quivering, Meek said, “It’s been really hard. They don’t tell you anything. They don’t tell you where you stand.”

Meek threw 97 mph in the minors, but began having success in the Arizona Fall League by taking a few miles off his fastball early in the count to improve his control, then throwing harder later in the count. That change intrigued the Pirates, and they drafted him in December.

Meek, the newly acquired Tyler Yates and closer Matt Capps all throw in the mid-90 mph range. With Franquelis Osoria, they give the Pirates multiple hard-throwing relievers — something they’ve long lacked. They also have three left-handers, one more than many clubs, with Damaso Marte, John Grabow and former starter Phil Dumatrait.

Dumatrait was an offseason waiver claim from the Reds after going 0-4 with a 15.00 ERA in six starts last season.

The most disappointed Pirates player wasn’t in camp. Left-hander Sean Burnett, angry at being cut late for the second spring in a row, was across the state in Wellington, Fla., with his newly born son and fiancee.

With the Pirates needing to set their roster and Burnett still away from camp, general manager Neal Huntington called him Thursday night to tell him he was headed to Triple-A Indianapolis to start the season.

“He was angry, frustrated, disappointed,” Huntington said. “But he was very professional about it.”

No Pirates pitcher was better this spring than the 2000 first-round draft pick. Burnett allowed only one run and three hits over 10 innings after switching from a starter to a reliever.

The Pirates, however, have no idea how a left-hander who had reconstructive left elbow surgery three years ago and a shoulder operation and only now is regaining his velocity and pitch movement can hold up in the bullpen.

“Candidly, nobody has outpitched him,” Huntington said. “He’s healthy for the first time, the ball’s coming out of his hand great, but there are some durability and resiliency questions that have to be answered. Can he go back to back? Can he go three innings and 50 pitches and come back two days later? What happens when he gets up in the sixth inning and doesn’t get in the game, can he get back up in the eighth? A lot of questions need to be answered.”

Burnett would have given the Pirates four left-handers in the bullpen, with Huntington acknowledging that such a seldom-seen imbalance could have been “an awkward situation.”