The Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday announced they have acquired righthanded relief pitcher Denny Bautista from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for righthanded minor league relief pitcher Kyle Pearson. To make room on the 40-man roster the Pirates have unconditionally released minor league outfielder Kevin Thompson. Pittsburgh will make a corresponding move on the 25-man roster when Bautista officially joins the club. The announcement was made by Senior Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington. Bautista, 27, began the 2008 season with the Tigers and went 0-1 with a 3.32 ERA (19.0ip/7er) and 10 strikeouts in 16 relief appearances before being designated for assignment on June 20. Bautista held hitters to a .231 batting average against (15-for-65) and just one home run, including a .143 average against lefties (3-for-21).

The Kansas City Royals today announced they have sent minor league righthanded pitcher Henry Arias to the Cincinnati Reds to complete the March 19 trade for righthanded pitcher Brad Salmon. Arias, 23, will be assigned to Dayton (A). This season for Burlington (A) he went 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA and 2 saves in 18 relief appearances. He originally was signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent on February 4, 2003. Salmon, 28, is currently 5-1 with a 4.43 ERA in 21 appearances (1 start) for Omaha (AAA).

The Mets added some outfield depth after Friday?s victory over the Rangers, acquiring veteran Trot Nixon from the Diamondbacks for cash or a player to be named, as reported by Yahoo.com. Nixon has spent this season with Class AAA Tucson of the PCL, hitting .309 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI in 58 games.

The Kansas City Royals have traded shortstop Angel Berroa and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league infielder Juan Rivera. Rivera, a 21-year-old from San Pedro de Macoris, DR, appeared in 10 games with the Great Lake (Mich.) Loons of the Midwest League in 2008, compiling a .241 average (7-for-29) with 3 RBI. He signed with the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent on July 21, 2003. Rivera owns a .248 career average with 8 home runs and 71 RBI in five minor league seasons. He will report to the Class-A Burlington Bees. Berroa, a 30-year-old native of Santiago, DR, batted .291 with 10 home runs, 27 RBI, and 34 runs in 51 games for the Omaha Royals in 2008. Los Angeles has assigned Berroa to their Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51?s.