Pittsburgh Pirates Claim Catcher, Former Reliever Off Waivers

The Pittsburgh Pirates added a pair of players via waivers on Tuesday, while also designating a catcher for assignment

Tuesday evening the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed a pair of players off waivers. This included re-added a former Pirate player back to their 40-man roster. With these moves, their 40-man roster remains full.

The two players the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed off waivers were catcher Ali Sánchez and reliever Beau Sulser, the latter of which made his MLB debut with the Pirates during the 2022 season.  Sánchez was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Tigers while Sulser was claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.

To make room for both players a 40-man roster spot needed to be cleared. This led to the Pittsburgh Pirates designating catcher Jose Godoy for assignment.

Sánchez made his MLB debut with the New York Mets during the 2020 season, with 10 plate appearances, and then had four more MLB PAs with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. Sánchez is 3-for-13 with a walk, two doubles, and three strikeouts in these 14 PAs.

The 2022 season saw Sánchez split time between the Triple-A affiliates of the Cardinals and Tigers. In 291 PAs, he hit for a .262/.354/.389 slash line with a 101 wRC+, 12.0% walk rate, and a 26.5% strikeout rate.

When spring training rolls around Sánchez will be 26-years-old. With both Tyler Heineman and Jason Delay having options remaining and being DFA candidates themselves, Sánchez could head to Bradenton with a legitimate chance to crack the team’s Opening Day roster as the backup catcher.

As for Sulser, between the Pirates and Orioles, the righty pitched 22.1 innings in 10 MLB appearances this past season. Sulser posted a 3.63 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 9.1% walk rate, and a 19.2% strikeout rate in these 22.1 innings pitched.

Odds are, Sulser will not survive the offseason as a member of the 40-man roster. Ben Cherington likely saw a pitcher he viewed as a 40-man roster upgrade and added him as a placeholder for now.