Guardians trade LHP Konnor Pilkington to Diamondbacks

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians traded left-hander Konnor Pilkington to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday for $100,000.

Pilkington appeared in 15 games for the AL Central champions last season, going 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA. The 25-year-old began this season with Triple-A Columbus before being recalled by the Guardians last week.

He made a relief appearance against Colorado on April 25, allowing one hit in two scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

Pilkington became expendable due to Cleveland’s abundance of young pitching talent. Rookies Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee have been impressive since arriving and appear to be part of the rotation going forward.

Pilkington was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2018. He pitched at Mississippi State. In two seasons at Triple-A, he went 3-7 with a 6.37 ERA.

Cleveland also selected the contract of catcher/infielder David Fry from Columbus and designated catcher Meibrys Viloria for assignment.

Fry could make his major league debut in Cleveland’s series at Yankee Stadium.

“He’s hasn’t been catching at Triple-A. He has been catching bullpens,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “I wouldn’t hesitate to put him back there, but I do think it gives us more versatility, like if we want to run for a catcher and then we can maybe run for somebody else because we can move him around.”

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