Massive Pirates 40-man roster shuffle sets table for Rule 5 Draft decisions

A ton of housekeeping in Pittsburgh.
Mesa Solar Sox v Salt River Rafters
Mesa Solar Sox v Salt River Rafters | Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

The Pittsburgh Pirates entered this week with a very crowded group, consisting of 43 players on the 40-man roster. On Tuesday, they got even at 40 by placing Liover Peguero, Ji-Hwan Bae, and Jack Little on waivers. These moves are being made to open up room to protect a handful of top prospects from the Rule 5 Draft. Today, the Pirates opened up two more spots, reinstated a handful of players off the injured list, and lost two on waivers (and one to minor-league free agency).

Pittsburgh got their 40-man down to just 38 guys by designating recently acquired Dugan Darnell and Michael Darrell-Hicks for assignment. Darnell was recently claimed off waivers from the Rockies with an injury, yet the Pirates picked him up ... just to let him swiftly walk again. Maybe because no one else picked him up initially, the Pirates believe he can clear waivers and get optioned to Triple-A. Darrell-Hicks threw two scoreless innings for the Pirates, but put together a 7.88 ERA with Indianapolis.

Jared Jones, Endy Rodriguez, Ronny Simon, and Enmanuel Valdez were all reinstated from the injured list, each taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. If they remain hurt during the offseason, they won't be able to get re-added to the injured list until spring training.

Pirates open up space for top prospect Esmerlyn Valdez (and another) with major roster shuffle.

The final roster moves in this package included Bae getting claimed by the Mets and Little by the Tigers. After four years in Pittsburgh, Bae is finally heading elsewhere. Little has yet to make his major league debut. Peguero cleared waivers and was optioned to Triple-A, where he elected minor-league free agency rather than report. He has no options remaining, so he has a lot to prove to whoever eventually claims him; if they give him an MLB chance, he can't be sent down without being exposed to waivers.

With two spots opened up, the Pirates can officially add Esmerlyn Valdez and another prospect to the 40-man roster. Valdez is having a monster fall, making this decision quite easy. The other spot - if the Pirates only decide to protect one other player, that is - was filled by hard-throwing reliever Ryan Harbin, with triple-digit velocity under his belt.

The Pirates now have a difficult decision ahead of them. Pitchers Brandon Bidois, Antwone Kelly, and Wilber Dotel each had excellent seasons in 2025, warranting protection. The Pirates can of course DFA or non-tender a few guys before the deadline to protect more than one additional prospect. All are deserving of a spot, and risking them getting picked up by another team is not something Pittsburgh should play around with.

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