Pirates right-hander Jeff Karstens has left Moye Sports Associates and is now represented by Damon Lapa and Scott Leventhal's All Bases Covered Sports Management, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter).
Karstens was non-tendered by the Pirates last offseason despite a 3.59 ERA and a pristine 1.7 BB/9 rate in 253 innings from 2011-12. He re-signed with Pittsburgh on a one-year deal worth $2.5MM — a notable decrease from the $3.8MM salary that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected he would have earned via arbitration. Durability issues seemed to be GM Neal Huntington's primary concerns, and sure enough, Karstens opened the season on the DL. He has yet to throw a pitch for the Pirates in 2013.
As shown in MLBTR's Agency Database, Lapa and Leventhal represent big leaguers such as Kevin Correia, Eric Chavez and David Robertson. Karstens is the second big league pitcher to change agents in as many days. Wei-Yin Chen left Octagon for the Boras Corporation last night.
