Pirates Announce Two Big Spring Training Roster Cuts

Garcia would either hardly get reps or rarely play if he did make the roster, so going down to Indianapolis will give him more at-bats and also more starts in the outfield to continue his development.

Callihan is a utility player and can feature at numerous positions, but he was always going to be one of the last players to make the Opening Day roster if he did so.

He plays all infield positions, besides shortstop, and can feature in left field. Like Garcia, he will get more opportunities in the minors, so he'll still get a chance to show he can play with the Pirates throughout the campaign.

This does signify that Nick Yorke will now likely make the roster as the Pirates' main utility option off the bench, as he plays all the spots that Callihan does. Yorke will serve as depth at third base and second base, plus play in both corner outfield spots when needed.

Other Spring Training Cuts the Pirates Have Made

The Pirates have cut 28 players so far in Spring Training and need to get down to a 26-man roster for Opening Day on March 26, with nine more players to cut over the next five days.

Pittsburgh's first round of cuts occurred on March 8, as they optioned both infielder Jack Brannigan and right-handed relief pitcher Ryan Harbin to Triple-A.

Brannigan suffered a broken nose vs. vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. on Feb. 22 and hasn't played since that incident, while Harbin suffered an arm injury to his teres major and lat musculature, which has him on the no-throw list for six weeks and he'll remain out until early April.

The Pirates' second round of Spring Training cuts happened on March 9 and included optioning four right-handed pitchers in Brandon Bidois, Wilber Dotel, Thomas Harrington and Antwone Kelly, plus outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez to Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh also reassigned catcher Omar Alfonzo, outfielder Mitch Jebb and right-handed pitcher  Khristian Curtis to minor league camp.

The Pirates made a third round of Spring Training cuts on March 12, as they reassigned eight players to minor league camp.

Pittsburgh moved  position players in outfielder Ronny Simon, catcher Derek Berg and infielders in Nick Cimillo,  Duce Gorson, Termarr Johnson and Davis Wendzel  and left-handed pitchers in Nick Dombkowski and Oddanier Mosqueda.

The Pirates' fourth round  of cuts saw them option infielder Enmanuel Valdez to Indianapolis and reassign outfielder Dominic Fletcher to minor league camp on March 16.

Pittsburgh made their fifth round of Spring Training cuts on March 17, which included reassigning right-handed pitchers in Beau Burrows , Michael Darrell-Hicks, Noah Davis and Noah Murdock to minor league camp and optioning left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk to Indianapolis.

The Pirates last made a roster cut on March 19, when they optioned catcher/first baseman Endy Rodríguez to Triple-A.