Pirates promote newly acquired outfielder, trade catcher to Braves in roster shuffle

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Alexander Canario just a few days ago from the New York Mets after he was designated for assignment prior to Opening Day. Canario was out of minor-league options, and the Mets' roster filled up, leading to this trade. The Pirates have officially activated Canario ahead of the team's home opener, demoting Ji-Hwan Bae in the corresponding move.

Bae was on thin ice with the Pirates as is, given his history at the major league level. In recent years, he has dominated Triple-A pitching, but it has not translated in Pittsburgh. Coming off a great spring training, Bae earned a spot with the big league team, but excelled only in a small sample size. Far from a sure thing, it's time for him to go back down so the Pirates can see what they have in Canario.

Bae only got up to the plate four times to start the season, and he struck out in three of them. He was not very competitive at the plate, and then pinch ran the day after his strikeout spree and bluffed a steal attempt three times, retreating back to first each time. What's even worse about that appearance on the base paths is that the third time was on ball four; he still ran back to first. He just did not look ready, and it seems as if Canario might be an upgrade.

Along with sending down Ji-Hwan Bae, the Pirates also traded Jason Delay to the Braves for cash considerations.

Catcher Jason Delay has been around the Pirates organization for a few years now, but that time is over for now, as he was DFA'd last week, a process that finished with a trade to Atlanta a few days later. He has always had an edge with his glove behind the plate, which is ultimately why he has a positive fWAR at 1.3. In nearly 400 plate appearances, Delay slugged two home runs and produced a wRC+ of 69. The Braves immediately optioned him to Double-A, but regardless, his glove will provide depth behind the plate for them after the offseason loss of Sean Murphy.

Bae needed to go down, and we should be grateful the corresponding move was not a player going on the injured list instead. Bryan Reynolds has been dealing with tricep soreness, preventing Andrew McCutchen from starting at designated hitter. Clearly, the Pirates can't afford to lose Reynolds in the longer term.

Hopefully Canario can be a little more productive than Bae was, and we should all be happy we were able to get something out of Delay.