The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Tuesday afternoon that they have optioned right-handed pitcher Yerry De Los Santos to Indianapolis. They have also reassigned catcher Tyler Heineman to minor league camp. We heard earlier today that catcher Jason Delay, IF/OF Ji-hwan Bae and outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba were all making the Opening Day roster.
The 25-year-old De Los Santos had a 4.91 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 25.2 innings as a rookie for the 2022 Pirates. He allowed four runs over eight innings this spring, with eight hits, three walks and five strikeouts. He was vying for the final bullpen spot.
Heineman lost out the backup catching spot to Jason Delay, though he will likely see big league time at some point this year. Heineman hit .136/.208/.182 this spring in 24 plate appearances. He had a .531 OPS in 52 games for the 2022 Pirates, though his defense pushed him to 0.1 WAR for the season.
The active roster now sits at 29. Catcher Kevin Plawecki was still part of the active roster count prior to today, though he hasn’t been with the team for a week. He had an opt out clause if he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster.
Opening Day is Thursday. Pirates are off tomorrow.
