Pittsburgh Pirates make another round of roster cuts

The Pittsburgh Pirates took another step toward finalizing their Opening Day roster on Tuesday

After a round of roster cuts on Tuesday morning, the Pittsburgh Pirates now have 37 players remaining in Major League camp. This comes after the team optioned three players to Triple-A on Tuesday, while reassigning eight others to minor league camp.

The three players optioned to Triple-A were super utility man Christopher Bostick, utility infielder Max Moroff, and starting pitcher Nick Kingham. Minus maybe Moroff, none of these moves come as a major surprise.

While Moroff was in competition for the final spot on the Pirate bench he was always going to be behind the eight ball due to having minor league options left. Moroff starting the year at Triple-A is no fault of his own. He did a lot of good things in the Majors last year and had a strong spring. Moroff will undoubtedly see plenty of time in Pittsburgh this season.

As for Bostick, like Moroff, he showed good things in the Majors last year. However, also like Moroff, he has minor league options. Kingham will go down to Triple-A, continue to log innings and refine his pitches, and should make his Major League debut sometime this summer. He still projects to be a big part of the team’s long-term plans.

The other eight players reassigned to minor league camp were pitchers Brett McKinney, Casey Sadler, and John Stilson, along with outfielders Pablo Reyes and Todd Cunningham, catcher Jackson Williams, and infielders Erich Weiss and Eric Wood. Of this group, keep an eye on McKinney, Sadler, Weiss, and Wood in the minor leagues this season.

Next: Projecting the Opening Day roster

The Pittsburgh Pirates now have nine days to cut 12 players from their current camp roster. Two of these 12 players are outfielder/first baseman Daniel Nava who will begin the year on the disabled list due to back surgery and reliever A.J. Schugel who also seems destined for the disabled list due to a shoulder issue.