The Pittsburgh Pirates made three more cuts on Tuesday in addition to the Josh Lindblom move earlier. They optioned pitcher Steven Brault and shortstop Gift Ngoepe to Indianapolis, while reassigning first baseman Jason Rogers to minor league camp. These moves now leave 33 players on the active Spring Training roster, with six days until Opening Day in Boston. The Brault demotion means that the final rotation spot is now down to Tyler Glasnow, Drew Hutchison and Trevor Williams.
Brault is the first to lose out on the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. He made two starts and four relief appearances this spring, posting a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings, giving up 16 hits, five walks and picking up eight strikeouts. He made seven starts and a relief appearance for the Pirates last year, posting a 4.86 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP in 33.1 innings. Brault will start in Indianapolis, and if he pitches like he did last year before his hamstring strain, then he would be one of the first pitchers up if a rotation spot opens up.
Ngoepe hasn’t hit at all in two seasons at Triple-A, but he put up strong numbers in a small sample size this spring. He hit .429/.500/.500 in 42 at-bats over 21 games this spring, leading the team in average. Ngoepe also impressed with the glove, though he has been the top defensive player in the system for the last few years, so that wasn’t a surprise. He will likely make his Major League debut at some point this season, though higher ranked prospects in Chris Bostick and Max Moroff will also push for time if a spot opens up.
Rogers injured his ankle early in Spring Training and ended up batting just 18 times total, posting an .833 OPS. He should end up in Indianapolis and likely play multiple positions. Without a 40-man roster spot, he will have a tough time making back to Pittsburgh, unless he shows over a long stretch that he could be the hitter that the Pirates acquired prior to last season. Rogers was valuable off the bench in 2015 for the Milwaukee Brewers, posting an .808 OPS in 86 games, but in limited use with the Pirates last year, he had a .463 OPS.
