The Pittsburgh Pirates made another round of roster cuts on Tuesday, and are now down to 40 players in their Major League training camp.
We have optioned the following players to our Triple-A Roster:
RHP Luis Ortiz
RHP Yohan RamirezWe have also re-assigned the following players to Minor League Camp:
INF Andres Alvarez
C Carter Bins
RHP Cody Bolton
RHP Carmen Mlodzinski
OF Chavez Young
LHP Daniel Zamora— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 21, 2023
With more players on their way to minor league camp, it starts to paint a picture as to what the Opening Day roster might look at, at the very least when it comes to the pitching staff.
The rotation was more or less decided going into camp, especially after the free agent signings of Vince Velasquez and Rich Hill. So Luis Ortiz getting optioned to Triple-A wasn’t really a surprise, as the rotation was mostly set.
That just leaves a decision on how they plan on using Johan Oviedo this upcoming season. If they like him as a starter, Triple-A would be the best option, but they could use him as long relief/spot starter in the majors if they wanted to get him straight up and playing for the Pirates.
When it comes to the bullpen, the path to Angel Perdomo potentially becoming a second lefty reliever took a little clearer with another southpaw getting sent to minor league camp, Daniel Zamora.
With Jarlin Garcia looking like he's going to miss quite a bit of time, Angel Perdomo is one of those names fighting for a bullpen spot as a second lefty behind Jose Hernandez. He's had his ups and downs this spring, but certainly an intriguing player. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/BjjuZDZK2t
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) March 17, 2023
That leaves just Jose Hernandez, Perdomo, and Rob Zastryzny as the only left-handed relievers in Major League camp still.
Yohan Ramirez was also optioned, leaving about 11 pitchers remaining for eight bullpen spots – and that’s also depending what they want to do with Oviedo.
Now here are the players that are fighting for a potential bullpen spot:
Dauri Moreta
Colin Holderman
Chase De Jong
Duane Underwood Jr
Yerry De Los Santos
Wil Crowe
Tyler Chatwood – NRI
David Bednar
Plus Hernandez, Perdomo, and Zastryzny as the left-handed options.
More Prospects Assigned
Two of the more impressive players in camp up to this point remain prospects, Cody Bolton and Carmen Mlodzinski. The Pirates announced that Bolton would shift to the bullpen full-time, and while we haven’t gotten confirmation on Mlodzinski’s role, his usage in spring may suggest the same.
Chavez Young with a home run and bat flip to go with it #Pirates pic.twitter.com/PNwrEmF4FS
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) March 7, 2023
Chavez Young was one of the standouts in the World Baseball Classic for Great Britain, but with so many other outfielders on the 40-man roster, it would have taken a lot for him to make the roster anyways.
The numbers didn’t stand out with the Pirates, but was an exciting player to watch nonetheless, and may have put himself in a position to be an eventual call-up at some point during the season.
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
Pirates are off today. Their only other day off this spring is the day before Opening Day, which is now eight days away.
Pirates won 4-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday. Andrew McCutchen’s homer was the big highlight. Here’s the boxscore.
**Pirates Trim Eight Players from Spring Training Roster
**Pirates Hitting Prospects Who Could Take A Big Step Forward In 2023
**Pirates Pitching Prospects Who Could Take A Big Step Forward In 2023
**Pirates DVR: Miguel Andujar Home Run, Travis Swaggerty RBI, Luis Ortiz Strikeout
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Nick Gonzales’ Strong Spring is a Good Sign
Song of the Day
