Pittsburgh Pirates: Two Candidates to Come Off the 40-Man Roster for Aroldis Chapman

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When the Pittsburgh Pirates signing of Aroldis Chapman is made official, which players could be in danger of losing their 40-man roster spot?

Tuesday evening, news broke that the Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman had agreed to a one-year, $10.5 million contract. With this, Chapman should slide into the Pirate bullpen as the primary setup man for closer David Bednar.

While the signing of Chapman has been reported, it has not yet been made official by the team. When the move becomes official the Pirates will have to make a 40-man roster move in order to make room for Chapman.

This raising the question, which player could come off the 40-man roster to make room for Chapman? While many people may think removing a pitcher from the 40-man roster to make room for Chapman makes sense, when looking at the 40-man roster that is somewhat hard to envision.

All of that said, today, we will take a look at which players could lose their 40-man roster spots to make room for Chapman. So, who are some candidates to come off the 40-man roster when the Chapman signing is made official?

Infielder Alika Williams

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Alika Williams in exchange for Robert Stephenson last May. In a trade that proved to be a very poor one for the Bucs, Stephenson went on to pitch his way to being arguably the top free agent relief pitcher this offseason while Williams was woeful with the Pirates.

Williams had 112 plate appearances in 46 games played with the Pirates. The middle infielder hit for a .198/.270/.248 slash line with a 44 OPS+ and a 43 wRC+. While he did draw walks at an 8.0% rate, he struck out at a woeful 31.3% rate. Despite his strong defense, he was worth a -0.2 WAR.

There is no path to Williams cracking the team's Opening Day roster. Barring injury, it's hard to envision the Pirates having a role for Williams during the 2024 season. There are multiple players available who can give them what Williams can, if not more.

To be honest, it's somewhat surprising that Williams has lasted this long into the offseason on the 40-man roster. It would not be a surprise at all if Williams ends up as the sacrificial lamb to make room for Chapman on the 40-man roster.

Outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba

Once viewed as a big piece of the Jameson Taillon trade, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba has failed to launch his MLB career to this point. He made his MLB debut in 2022 but was limited to just 7 PAs before a wrist injury ended his season.

Following a strong spring, Smith-Njigba made the team's Opening Day roster in 2023. However, his time in the majors would not last long. Smith-Njigba hit for just a .125/.216/.219 slash line with a 17 wRC+ and a 20 OPS+ in 37 PAs.

After being demoted to the minors, Smith-Njigba would return to the majors. However, he failed to see any playing time or earn an at-bat during this trip to the majors. On his way to posting a -0.2 WAR last season, Smith-Njigba failed to look like a player who can stick in the majors.

It's hard to envision a long-term future with the Pirates for Smith-Njigba. With this being a big factor, it's easy to see him coming off the 40-man roster to make room for Chapman.

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