According to the transactions page on the Pittsburgh Pirates team site, the Pirates have lost catcher Ali Sanchez on waivers to the Arizona Diamondbacks. There was no formal announcement of Sanchez being designated for assignment. He was picked up this off-season as a waiver claim from the Detroit Tigers on October 18th.
Sanchez turns 26 years old in January. He has played just seven big league games over two seasons, though he spent the entire 2022 season in the minors. He was the only catcher on the 40-man roster with big league experience. Endy Rodriguez is the only catcher on the 40-man roster now, and he has less than a half season above A-Ball, so it’s likely that the Pirates add two catchers this off-season, though they could have multiple players on minor league deals battle it out for a backup spot during Spring Training, which is what happened in 2021.
The 40-man roster is now at 39 spots, opening up a possible spot for a Rule 5 pick next week.
