PITTSBURGH -- Though Luis Ayala talked his way off the Minnesota Twins' roster, the Pirates would be willing to take him for their bullpen, though only at a greatly reduced cost.

The Twins designated the right-handed reliever for assignment Monday, giving them 10 days to trade him, release him or outright him to the minor leagues. The Pirates, who have a need for an experienced righty with set-up man Tyler Yates (elbow) on the disabled list, have inquired about Ayala.

However, the Pirates would only deal for Ayala if the Twins assume the vast majority of what is remaining on his $1.3-million salary for the remainder of this season, approximately $700,000.

Ayala, 31, was 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA in 28 games this season after being signed as a free agent on Feb. 18. He was upset that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would not allow him to pitch the eighth inning in front of closer Joe Nathan and asked to be traded three weeks ago.

"His thoughts were if we gave him the ball in the eighth inning, he'd do the job," Gardenhire told reporters who cover the Twins earlier this week. "My thoughts are, 'if you're not getting them out, you're not going to pitch in the eighth inning.' We're trying to win, so there's your difference."

Ayala suffered a blown save each of the first three times he pitched with a lead in the seventh inning this season.

"When you walk into my office and tell me you don't like your role, and he talked about his contract for next year, you lose me right there," Gardenhire said. "I don't deal with that. We're talking about winning now."

Yates has been on the DL since May 16 and has shown no signs of making progress from elbow inflammation. The Pirates have been using three rookies to pitch middle and set-up relief from the right side Jesse Chavez, Steven Jackson and Evan Meek.

MORTON UPDATE: Right-hander Charlie Morton said his strained right hamstring is feeling much better and expects to start Friday night against Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park.

The Pirates, though, have right-hander Virgil Vasquez on call at Class AAA Indianapolis in case Morton can't pitch. The Pirates figure to make a final determination on Morgan's status today.

Morton said before Wednesday night's 10-6 win over Cleveland that he is ready to go.

"It's getting better, noticeably better, and I'd be surprised if I wasn't able to pitch on Friday," Morton said.

Morton was pulled after one inning of his Pirates' debut on June 11 at Atlanta when he felt tightness in the hamstring. He was given eight days between starts before pitching five innings at Colorado last Saturday.

"We just want to play it safe and make sure Charlie doesn't put himself in position where he hurts himself and has to miss a significant amount of time," Russell said. "He still feels it a little bit."

WILSON UPDATE: Jack Wilson moved into fourth place for most career games by a Pirates' shortstop with 1,104 on Wednesday night. He had been tied with Jay Bell.

Honus Wagner holds the record with 1,887 and is followed by Arky Vaughan (1,381) and Dick Groat (1,242).

MINORS UPDATE: Low Class A West Virginia first baseman Calvin Anderson singled home the winning run Tuesday night in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game in Charleston, W. Va. He also won the home run derby by hitting 13 balls out of the park.

The Pirates also acquired first baseman Brian Myrow from the Chicago White Sox organization and assigned him to Class AAA Indianapolis. Myrow was hitting .277 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 48 games with Class AAA Charlotte.

Myrow, 32, has played in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2005) and San Diego (2007-08), hitting .157 with one homer and four RBIs in 52 games.

UP NEXT: The three-game series concludes at 7:05 tonight with Ross Ohlendrof (6-6, 4.94) pitching for the Pirates against left-hander Cliff Lee (4-6, 2.94), last year's American League Cy Young Award winner. Ohlendorf has worked at least six innings in nine of his 14 starts this season.

jperrotto@piratesreport.com

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