3 more August roster moves the Pirates must make after Andrew Heaney DFA

The final month of the regular season is just around the corner. September brings an opportunity for teams to change their rosters dramatically. With rosters expanding and Postseason eligibility ending at the start of the month, you're going to see many players get put on waivers, and multiple prospects who are doing well get the call from Triple-A in the coming days. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot of space they could clear out on their roster after jettisoning Andrew Heaney, and many more Triple-A players they should give a shot to before the start of the new month. Making these moves should be on their to-do list as we head into the final days of August.

3 more roster moves Pirates must make after DFAing Andrew Heaney

Replace Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a young infielder

The Pirates have MLB's number one prospect in baseball right now: shortstop Konnor Griffin. Though he isn't quite ready for primetime (yet), the Pirates have a multitude of young middle infielders in their system who are worth watching right now.

One current roster spot is occupied by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who the Pirates should DFA. Originally acquired at the 2024 trade deadline, Kiner-Falefa struggled down the stretch, but the infielder got off to a quality start in 2025. At the end of May, he was batting .305/.353/.391 with a .329 wOBA and 109 wRC+. He only walked at a 5.2% rate, but he counteracted that with a strong 16.1% strikeout percentage. His obvious flaw was his lack of power, with just a single home run, but his ability to get on base at an above-average rate made him a perfect nine-hole hitter.

But since the start of June, it's been all downhill for Kiner-Falefa. His last 234 plate appearances have yielded just a .235/.264/.290 triple-slash, with a .245 wOBA and 51 wRC+. He is still rarely striking out, with a 15.4% K%, but his already poor walk rate has dropped even further to 3.4%. His home run on May 12 still remains the only long ball he has hit all season.

IKF's shortstop defense hasn't been outstanding, nor has it been unplayable. He has +1 defensive run saved, but -3 outs above average. The Pirates have given him more playing time at third base since trading Ke'Bryan Hayes and shifting Jared Triolo to shortstop. His glove has looked much better over at the hot corner. It has only been 167.2 innings, but he has +4 DRS and +5 OAA in the small sample size.

IKF is a free agent at the end of the year, so now is the time to DFA him. The Pirates need to see what some of their other young players can do before the arrival of Konnor Griffin, as well as Termarr Johnson. Cam Devanney hasn't excelled at Indianapolis, but he still has 20 home runs, a .845 OPS, and 119 wRC+ this year across the Pirates' and KC Royals' Triple-A teams. Even though the Pirates seemingly don't want to give Nick Yorke an opportunity, this will be their best chance at seeing what he can do in the Major Leagues. If for some reason the Pirates don't want to put either in a semi-regular role, at least bring up Tsung-Che Cheng, so they can roster a strong defensive infielder with plus speed.

Use Alexander Canario's roster spot more efficiently

Alexander Canario sticking around for this long has been a real mystery. The Pirates acquired the outfielder when they purchased his contract from the New York Mets on March 30, and he has been on the Pirates' roster the entire season. To say he hasn't done all that well at the plate would be an understatement.

He is batting just .203/.273/.315 with a .263 wOBA and 63 wRC+. Canario has hit just four home runs with a .107 isolated slugging percentage. Sure, he has one of the fastest bats in the league, as his swing speed averages out at 76 MPH. But he has serious trouble making contact, with a 37.7% whiff rate and 32% strikeout percentage. Canario's 8.2% walk rate is about league average, but that's about the only positive you can say about him. 

Defensively, Canario isn't anything special. He isn't a liability, but he isn't going to be a Gold Glove finalist either. He has +6 defensive runs saved, but -1 outs above average, getting good jumps and running decent routes. Canario has a strong arm, as he is in the 87th percentile of arm strength. 

An average fielder with a well below-average bat is something the Pirates could easily find a replacement for after jettisoning Canario. Billy Cook would be the ideal replacement, but he is currently on the IL. At least Ji-Hwan Bae would give the Pirates speed off the bench. Nick Yorke can also play the outfield. If the Pirates really don't want to bring up anyone important, they could give Ryan Kreidler an opportunity, who, at the very least, is a plus defensive utility man. 

At this point, Canario staying on the Pirates' roster makes no sense. He has rarely played and has less than 100 plate appearances over the last three months, with 82 dating back to May 28. In that time, he has just 11 hits, eight walks, 30 Ks, and three extra-base hits. There has to be a more efficient use of that roster spot than to keep a guy around who is barely playing.

Time to send Colin Holderman packing somewhere

Colin Holderman once looked like a long term setup man option for the Pirates. Unfortunately, he hasn’t looked like that since the first half of the 2024 season. Holderman struggled badly down the line in 2024, working to 6.32 ERA, 6.93 FIP, and 1.47 WHIP over his final 15.2 innings. He only had an 18.4% strikeout rate, paired with an 11.4% BB% and horrible 2.30 HR/9 ratio.

2025 hasn’t been much better for Holderman. In 19.2 innings, he has an 8.24 ERA, with a 6.73 FIP and 1.93 WHIP. He has walked the same amount of batters as he has struck out, tallying just 13 of each. Home runs have continued to be a massive issue for Holderman; he's allowed four in the small sample size. 

The Pirates do not need to outright designate Holderman for assignment. They can still option him to Triple-A. There’s no question that Holderman has the stuff. His 115 Stuff+ in 2025 is still very good. The downside is his Location+ has fallen from 96 in 2023 to just 88 this season. It’s hard to completely give up on a reliever whose stuff is still elite, especially when the Pirates have found relievers from the scrap yard plenty of times over the last few years. But change in the bullpen is needed, and Holderman isn’t it.

The Pirates just recalled Dauri Moreta, but they have other options to replace Holderman. Chase Shugart has been a serviceable middle reliever. He has a 121 ERA+ on the year, and sports a 103 Stuff+. Cam Sanders and Evan Sisk have also shown some promise earlier this year. Heck, give Michael Darrell-Hicks or Jack Little a chance. The chances they do worse than Holderman right now are slim, and the Pirates would at least get to try something different.