Pirates send down 8, including Endy Rodriguez, Mike Burrows

The Pirates trimmed eight players from their spring training roster Tuesday, including top prospects Endy Rodriguez and Mike Burrows.

Rodriguez, Burrows, relief pitcher Colin Selby, infielder Jared Triolo and outfielder Ryan Vilade were assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Righties Wei-Chieh Huang and Nate Webb and lefty Caleb Smith were sent to minor league camp.

The moves leave the Pirates with 50 players on the roster, 24 pitchers and 26 position players.

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Rodriguez, a 22-year-old catcher, led all Pirates minor leaguers in batting average (.323), on-base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.590) and OPS (.996) in 125 games across High-A Greensboro, Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis last season. He hit 25 home runs with 95 RBIs.

Burrows, a 23-year-old right-hander, went 4-2 with a 2.94 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 52 innings with Altoona last season.

Selby has emerged as one of the top relief pitching prospects in the organization. Vilade, claimed off waivers from Colorado in November, was in contention for an outfield job on the major league roster. Smith is a veteran left-handed reliver who made 44 appearances for Arizona last season.