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).