One cut to go

The Pirates shipped eight players out today, leaving just one cut left to be made before the Opening Day roster is set. Virgil Vazquez, Jason Davis, Chris Bootcheck, Jeff Salazar, Andy Phillips, Garrett Jones, Denny Bautista, and Eric Kratz were all cut this morning, leaving one spot left in the bullpen to decide. These moves mean a few things; Craig Monroe and Luis Cruz are all but assured of spots now and Jeff Karstens is locked in as the fifth starter. I was a bit surprised to see both Vazquez and Davis go, but my guess is that the front office wants to keep both of them starting for now, and thus the demotion. Similarly for guys like Phillips, Jones, and Salazar, another roster spot has to be opened for them to make the team over, say, Nyjer Morgan, and the Bucs don't risk losing them if they don't make the roster like they would if they cut Monroe. We can debate the merits of keeping Monroe aboard, but the fact is that if he's awful we can get rid of him and bring one of these ...