Wilson missed the beginning of spring training with a right elbow injury. The 36-year old batted .270/.342/.461 in 229 at-bats for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He'll compete for a major league spot in spring training.

This being Duncan's second time with an outright assignment gives him the ability to become a free agent, which he will do so. The son of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, Shelley just never could break into the Yankees bench despite flashing solid power. He'll hook on elsewhere and hope to be the next Garrett Jones.

Each are protected from December's Rule 5 draft. Ford, 24, already known for his world-class-speed, raised his stock a bit in 2009, batting .300/.386/.463 with nine homers, 50 RBI, 35 stolen bases and 81 runs scored in 101 games with Class A San Jose. For a guy who didn't show much until this season, making the 40-man roster is a real accomplishment.

Guerra, 24, was 6-2 with a 2.60 ERA in 51 relief appearances between Class A Great Lakes and Double-A Chattanooga in 2009. He was the Dodgers fourth-round pick in 2004.

Diaz, 25, was out of major league options. He batted .279/.307/.357 with one home run and 19 RBI in 129 at-bats with the Pirates this season, however he was behind Ryan Doumit and Jason Jaramillo on the depth chart.

Thomas, 25, was just claimed off waivers at the end of October. That said, his 4.48 ERA and 53/40 K/BB ratio in 60 1/3 innings at Triple-A Tacoma this season wasn't all that impressive anyway.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, however the Pirates deemed it necessary since he was out of major league options. Karstens was cleared in order to make room for Chris Jakubauskas, who was claimed from the Mariners on Friday. Karstens, 27, was 4-6 with a 5.42 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 39 appearances (13 starts) with the Pirates in 2009. Though he doesn't strike many people out, or possess great control for that matter, he should garner some interest as a spot-starter or long reliever.