Pirates Reassign Chasen Shreve and Chase De Jong; Notes on Cody Ponce, Todd Frazier and the Backup Catcher

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:

Also this bit of news:

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.

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