Among the beneficiaries of Jameson Taillon's promotion to the majors is Justin Masterson, who was moved up to Triple-A to start in his place on Wednesday.
Masterson, 31, was signed to a minor league deal by the Pittsburgh Pirates in April. The former All-Star has appeared in two games for Class A Advanced Bradenton and is hoping to make a comeback at the major league level after an unproductive stint with the Boston Red Sox last season (5.61 ERA in 59 1/3 innings).
"There's positives," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told MLB.com's Adam Berry. "It's still not the power that Justin Masterson had when he was really successful at the major league level. You still see the life in the fastball, but it's not the mid-90s power-sink that Justin had when he was so successful.
"We're still working to get him back ... to get the mechanics to where he's comfortable with them and build the arm strength. We're still in that phase."
The Pirates appear to have plenty of starting pitching depth, so Masterson may best help the team as a reliever, a role he once excelled in during his career.
