After Monday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, the Pittsburgh Pirates reassigned pitchers Chasen Shreve and Chase De Jong to minor league camp, getting their active roster down to 29 players. They will need to make three more cuts ahead of Opening Day on Thursday. The only non-roster players left in camp right now are catcher Tony Wolters and pitcher Clay Holmes.
Shreve made ten appearances this spring and posted a 3.86 ERA, a .235 BAA, an 0.96 WHIP and a 7:1 BB/SO ratio in 9.1 innings.
De Jong pitched well in a starter/long relief role this spring, posting a 1.88 ERA, an 0.84 WHIP, a 7:3 BB/SO ratio and a .184 BAA in 14.1 innings.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see both of these players at some time in Pittsburgh this year, especially with the Pirates planning to use a 14-man pitching staff.
The Pirates also announced that Cody Ponce won’t be ready for Opening Day, so they appear to be down to two decisions left before the Opening Day roster is finalized:
Cherington said Cody Ponce will not be ready for Opening Day. He pitched earlier in March, and after that outing, "he felt something physically" in his forearm area.
"We wanted to take an abundance of caution with that." He's been throwing, but Pirates wanted to go slow.
— Jake Crouse (@JakeCrouseMLB) March 29, 2021
Also this bit of news:
Ben Cherington says the Pirates are still talking to Todd Frazier and remain interested in bringing him back if he doesn’t find a major league job.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) March 29, 2021
Ben Cherington announced that Michael Perez will be the backup catcher. Not surprising considering he had a big league deal and Wolters a minor league deal, which allows him to remain as the third string catcher without taking up a roster spot.
Michael Perez will be the backup catcher for the Pirates, per Shelton.
— Jake Crouse (@JakeCrouseMLB) March 29, 2021
