Pittsburgh Pirates: Club Announces Roster Moves

As the Pittsburgh Pirates continue to get ready for Opening Day in two weeks, the club has announced additional roster moves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are making decisions to their roster to trim it down to 26 men, with players being reassigned to minor league camp and others being optioned.  The club made some moves about a week ago, optioning players that didn’t have a real chance to make the club but were with the Pirates to get in reps and see how they fare against big league players.  Today, the club has made additional moves:

Jared Oliva was not a shock to be optioned, especially with how Anthony Alford has played, and he looks to be the starting center fielder.  Dustin Fowler is out of options and the club acquired him for cash considerations, making him an interesting player to follow and one likely to make the team.  The Pirates also signed Brian Goodwin to a minor league deal, and he has had a good history in the major leagues.

Edgar Santana missed all of 2019 with Tommy-John and all of 2020 with a suspension for performance enhancing drugs, so his option is also no surprise as the club will look to bring him back slowly.  After having a standout 2018, Santana has one option year left, making him expendable to start the year.  The right-hander has a good fastball/slider combination and will likely be seen at some point in the season.

Spitzbarth was a minor league rule five pick and will serve as depth in Triple-A Indianapolis’ rotation.  He is not on the 40-man roster and thus doesn’t use an option year.  Kramer was outrighted off the 40-man in November and this looks to be his last chance with the Pirates.  Kramer will serve as upper level utility depth and likely will only be called up to Pittsburgh in case of an injury.