Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Locks to Come off the 40-Man Roster

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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Tanner Anderson #63 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the fourth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 30, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

The Pittsburgh Pirates are facing a massive 40-man roster crunch this offseason which will lead to a 40-man roster purge

This offseason the Pittsburgh Pirates will face a 40-man roster crunch. There are at least 12-15 prospects the Pirates will want to add to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

There will also be the need to make room to the 40-man roster for offseason additions that the Pittsburgh Pirates make, as well as players who are activated off of the 60-day injured list. All told, the Pirates will have a lot of work to do with their 40-man roster this offseason.

While there will undoubtedly be tough decisions to be made for the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason, some 40-man roster decisions will be easy ones. This includes these five players who are locks to be removed from the 40-man roster.

Right-handed reliever Tanner Anderson

After making his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 righty Tanner Anderson returned to the black and gold in 2021. Prior to joining the Pirates in September the Harvard product pitched 36.2 innings in 17 games for Triple-A Indianapolis this season.

Anderson made just one appearance for the Pirates in September, pitching 5 innings. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, no walks and a strikeout in this outing. While Anderson pitched 5 strong innings in his lone outing in 2021, he will not be one of the first players removed from the 40-man roster this offseason.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 25: Taylor Davis #2 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 25, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Catcher Taylor Davis

Right-handed hitting catcher Taylor Davis has spent the majority of his professional career in the minor leagues. Most of this time was spent in the farm system of the Chicago Cubs. He has had limited MLB experience, however.

Davis made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2017, and also played for the Cubs in 2018 and 2019. But, he did not play in the Majors n 2020. In fact, as part of the COVID season of 2020 Davis did not play in any professional games whatsoever. Following the season he landed with the Baltimore Orioles.

When the 2021 minor league season opened Davis found himself playing at the Triple-A level for Baltimore. On June 15th the Pittsburgh Pirates traded for Davis to add to the organization’s catcher depth.

During the month of September this depth was tested. When Jacob Stallings hit the 7-day injured list with a concussion it was Davis whose contract was purchased from Indianapolis. While Davis went 2-for-5 with a walk in 2021, he will be removed from the 40-man roster this offseason. Hell, odds are, the backup catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022 is not currently in the organization as Michael Perez also appears to be a safe bet to be removed from the 40-man roster.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 9: Jared Oliva #14 of the Pittsburgh Pirates at bat during the fifth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 9, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

Outfielder Jared Oliva

25-year-old outfielder Jared Oliva made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020. The right-handed hitting outfielder went 3-for-16 with no walks, no extra base hits and 6 strikeouts in his 16 PAs in the Majors in September of 2020.

Oliva had risen to being a top-10 prospect in the Pirate farm system. Although, this rise did come as a bit of a surprise. While Oliva does a lot of things well, outside of his speed there is nothing he seems to be great at.

For most of the 2021 season Oliva was with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. In 43 PAs across 20 games played in the Majors, Olvia hit for a .175/.233/.225 slash line to go with a wRC+ of 20 and just a pair of doubles.

Throughout the 2021 season the Pirates were in need of outfield help, especially right-handed hitting outfield help. Despite this, Oliva was never given any sort of extended look at the Major League level. This most likely indicates that Pirate brass are not high on Oliva.

If Pirate brass is not high on Oliva this will spell his end with the organization. Look for that end to come this offseason.

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 05: Shea Spitzbarth #66 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 05, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

Right-handed reliever Shea Spitzbarth

The 2021 season was good to Shea Spitzbarth. The career minor leaguer made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was also named the pitcher of the year for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

With the Pirates the 27-year-old righty posted a 3.60 ERA and a 7.17 FIP in 5.0 innings pitched. Spitzbarth’s 5.0 innings pitched came in 5 relief appearances. In these 5.0 innings of work Spitzbarth allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks, he hit a batter, allowed a home run and struck out 1.

While Spitzbarth’s story is a great one, it is not one that is long for the Majors. Spitzbarth surviving the offseason as a member of the 40-man roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates would be a surprise. AS the Pirates look to add players to their 40-man roster this offseason, odds are, Spitzbarth will be one of the first players removed from the 40-man.

For his own sake, and for the sake of the good story, hopefully, Spitzbarth impressed enough to lock on with another organization this offseason. Even if it’s as a minor league signing, Spitzbarth should surface in spring training for some team this spring.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 02: Phillip Evans #24 of the Pittsburgh Pirates warms up prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

Utility man Phillip Evans

When Phillip Evans first burst into the scene with the Pittsburgh Pirates he appeared to be a potential long-term answer in a right-handed hitting utility role. While his 2020 season was ended after just 45 PAs due to injury, he raked in those 45 PAs to the tune of a 158 wRC+.

Evans then started the 2021 season strong. From the start of the 2020 season through the end of April 2021, Evans accumulated 139 PAs with the Pirates. In these 139 tops to the plate Evans hit for a .273/.376/.430 slash line to go with a 120 wRC+, .157 ISO, 5 home runs and an extra base hit rate of 7%.

After a strong start to the 2021 season Evans started to show why he was a career minor leaguer. From May 1st until the end of the season Evans had 153 PAs. While he walked at a healthy 13.1% rate in these PAs, he hit for just a .189/.301/.235 slash line to go with a wRC+ of 55 and just 4 extra base hits.

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Between injuries and poor performance Evans struggled to remain on the active roster for much of the second half of the season. With the Pirates looking to clear 40-man roster space this offseason Evans appears to be a lock to be taken off of the roster.

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