The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned pitchers Sam Howard and Miguel Yajure to Indianapolis on Monday. According to MLB rules for this season, all rosters dropped from 28 players to 26 active players today. The Pirates dropped two pitchers today, but reliever Anthony Banda is due back from the injured list tomorrow, so expect them to make another move before Tuesday’s game in Detroit.
Howard has only been up since April 26th, after going through rehab early in the year for a Spring Training injury, and then getting optioned to Indianapolis once the rehab stint was over. He pitched three times for the Pirates, giving up two runs in two innings.
Yajure has been up since the start of the season, pitching mostly in a long relief role. He has thrown 10.1 innings over six appearances, posting an 11.32 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP. You would expect him to get stretched out as a starter at this point, taking up his normal role.
In case you missed it from last night, Anthony Alford has elected free agency after being sent outright to Indianapolis last week.
