Three days ago, the Detroit Tigers designated Kyle Lobstein for assignment to make room for newly acquired utility player Mike Aviles on the 40-man roster. The designation gave Detroit 10 days to release, trade or put Lobstein on waivers. It only took three days for the Tigers to make a move as Detroit, with general manager Al Avila, dealt away Lobstein to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, the team announced.
"[I am] pumped to join the Pirates organization," Lobstein said. "[I] love their style of play and excitement of the city! [I] can not wait for spring training!"
Lobstein, a left-handed starting pitcher, was drafted in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He was picked up by the New York Mets in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft. Lobstein was dealt to Detroit that exact day.
Since coming to MoTown, Lobstein has went 4-10 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.456 WHIP across 20 major league appearances. With the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens since 2013, the pitcher went 15-16 with a 4.08 ERA across 236.0 innings. Lobstein spent most his time in the minors and only appeared at the big league level when a Tigers pitcher went down with an injury.
The most recent injury to Lobstein was inflammation in his left shoulder, which occurred in May. The lefty did not return until September. He finished the season as a bullpen pitcher.
Lobstein will join Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jeff Locke, Jon Niese, Ryan Vogelsong and Tyler Glasnow as starting pitchers on the roster of the Pirates. At this point, Lobstein will either start in the bullpen or will pitch for Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. He has a track record of stepping up when a pitcher gets injured, so that should be helpful incase Niese and Vogelson, two veteran pitchers, go down at some point during the season.