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Pittsburgh Pirates roster news: Tony Sanchez to AAA

Jason Rollison
Jason Rollison

Rum Bunter

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that Chris Stewart will be reinstated from his rehab assignment, with Tony Sanchez optioned to Triple-A as the corresponding move.

The move comes despite some speculation that the Pirates may break camp with three catchers.  Sanchez had done very well to improve his standing in the eyes of Clint Hurdle and others during spring training, and hit the season running, slashing .375/.444/.819 in a part time role.  A somewhat-murky catcher picture heading into this season has become clear with Francisco Cervelli firmly grabbing hold of the starting position.

Stewart will provide excellent defensive capabilities in a backup role.  With Cervelli’s excellent start at the plate, Hurdle and staff likely felt more comfortable with letting Sanchez go back to his familiar home in Indianapolis.  Of course, going into the season the big question centered around replacing the offensive production of Russell Martin, freshly departed for the Toronto Blue Jays.  As of the time of this writing, Martin is struggling out of the gate, posting a .042 AVG with zero extra base hits, while Cervelli has proven to be very adept at getting on base, with an .OBP of .360 in 26 plate appearances.

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Jason Rollison

Jason Rollison

Jason Rollison is the prototypical young Pirates commentator Old enough to remember "Game 7" in 1992 yet young enough not to become jaded with baseball completely from 1993-2013. Jason started with Rum Bunter as a contributor in December of 2014 and is now relishing his role as a co-editor. When it comes to analyzing baseball, he likes to take a middle-of-the-road approach, with one foot on the analytics side of the fence and the other on the old-school side. Having said that, he is a sucker for pitchf/x.Jason has appeared as a phone-in and in-studio guests in numerous outlets, including Trib Live Radio and 93.7 The Fan (CBS Sports Radio)