The Pittsburgh Pirates have made four cuts today, according to Rob Biertempfel and Colin Dunlap. The players who were cut were Josh Fields, Tyler Yates, Sean Gallagher, Daniel McCutchen, and Wyatt Toregas. The Spring Training Tracker has been updated, and the current roster sits at 36 players following the moves.
Josh Fields getting cut means the battle for the corner infield bench spot could come down between Steve Pearce and Andy Marte, which is expected. Fields has been getting a lot of work at Pirate City the last few days, taking at-bats in the AAA and AA games. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pirates hold on to him in AAA. That’s not saying it will happen. I just don’t think they’d put that much time in to him only to cut him, especially when you consider that it’s not a big surprise that he was cut.
Yates, Gallagher, and McCutchen all get removed from a battle for bullpen spots. None of those cuts are unexpected. Yates and McCutchen will most likely move to bullpen roles in AAA. Gallagher, on the other hand, could end up in the AAA rotation as emergency major league depth. He pitched several innings the other day, making a start in the AA game, while Jeff Karstens made a start in the AAA game.
Finally, Toregas being cut wasn’t unexpected, as he wasn’t projected to make the roster. His future will depend on whether the Pirates use Jason Jaramillo in the majors. If Jaramillo is in the majors as a third catcher, Toregas would most likely be the backup to Dusty Brown in Indianapolis.
