ST. LOUIS -- The Giants were awarded a waiver claim on Kansas City Royals left-hander Jose Mijares, the club announced Monday.
Mijares was added to the 40-man roster and will join the active, 25-man roster once he reports, club officials said.
Mijares, 27, was 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA while appearing in 51 games, making him the fifth-most used relief pitcher in the American League. He has allowed 36 hits and 13 walks in 38 23 innings while striking out 37.
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The native Venezuelan was in his first season with the Royals after spending parts of the previous four years with the Minnesota Twins. He made five postseason appearances with Minnesota in 2009 and '10.
Mijares was unscored upon in 11 appearances in June and last appeared Friday against Texas, when he allowed two runs in a third of an inning and surrendered a home run to the Rangers' Mitch Moreland. It was the first homer Mijares had allowed this season to left-handed hitters, who own a .212 average against him; right-handers are hitting .295 against him.
The Giants have been searching actively on the waiver wire for bullpen help; Mijares is expected to be more of a one-inning pitcher to complement situational lefty Javier Lopez and setup man Jeremy Affeldt. The club remains on the lookout for a right-hander, and the pool could deepen as some clubs fall out of the race in August.
Mijares had to pass through all other American League clubs as well as NL teams with inferior records to get to the Giants, who were only required to pick up the remainder of his 925,000 salary. Mijares is eligible for arbitration two more times and won't be able to file for free agency until after the 2014 season, at the earliest.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants are currently carrying 13 pitchers and manager Bruce Bochy indicated on Sunday that he doesn't envision that changing anytime soon. The team is coming off a successful series at Coors Field, but the bullpen had trouble pitching effectively in garbage time.