The Pittsburgh Pirates will make their first call-ups when rosters expand in September, and according to a Pirates Prospects source, they will call on six players during the first wave. Those six players are outfielders Travis Snider and Jaff Decker, infielder Pedro Florimon, left-hander Bobby LaFromboise, right-hander Radhames Liz, and catcher Elias Diaz. The Pirates haven’t made any official announcements yet, and all we’ve been told from a source with knowledge of the organization is that the players have been notified.
Snider, Florimon, and Liz are currently off the 40-man roster, and the Pirates only have one spot open, so two spots will have to be created. Those three guys were expected. One guy who was also expected, but not on this list, is Vance Worley. It’s possible he could still come up in the future, as he is currently scheduled to start tomorrow for Indianapolis.
Decker and LaFromboise were both on the 40-man roster, and both provide depth at their positions. Decker gives the Pirates an additional outfielder and left-handed hitter. LaFromboise gives them a third left-hander out of the bullpen.
For the third catcher role, the Pirates are going with Elias Diaz over Tony Sanchez. I’ve been mentioning all week that Diaz seems to have moved ahead of Sanchez on the depth charts. It will be interesting to see if Sanchez eventually gets the call to the majors in September. He’s on the 40-man, but he’s out of options next year. If he doesn’t get called up, it would be telling for his future with the club.
No word on when these guys will come up. The guys who aren’t on the 40-man roster would need to be added by tomorrow to be eligible for the playoff roster. That said, they could be added no matter what, since the Pirates have guys on the 60-day disabled list who could be replaced with anyone who was in the organization on August 31st. So there’s no rush to get anyone on the roster, but the Pirates could make moves tomorrow anyway. If they don’t, then expect these six to arrive by Tuesday.
