The Pittsburgh Pirates cleared room for rookies Ji Hwan Bae and Canaan Smith-Njigba to possibly make the Opening Day roster with moves that should settle their utility positions.
The Pirates optioned infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias, acquired from Texas on March 8, to Triple-A Indianapolis, and reassigned infielders Drew Maggi and Chris Owings and right-handed reliever Tyler Chatwood to their minor league camp.
Those moves come a day after the Pirates reassigned outfielder Miguel Andujar and lefty reliever Angel Perdomo to minor-league camp. There are 32 players remaining in major league camp, although The Athletic reported that catcher Kevin Plawecki is expected to trigger his opt-out clause after being told he won’t make the team.
That leaves Bae, Smith-Njigba and Connor Joe contending for the final four position player spots, along with one of the backup catchers, Jason Delay or Tyler Heineman.
Maggi, 33, batted .345/.424/.724 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs in 24 games. Owings, 31, slashed .250/.405/.406 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs in 17 games. Mathias, 28, batted .222/.417/.278 with a double and two RBIs in eight games.
Chatwood, 33, who was recovering from shoulder surgery, had a 16.20 ERA and 2.80 WHIP with three home runs allowed in five innings over five appearances.
