The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced that outfielder Felix Pie has been outrighted off the 40-man roster and has elected free agency. Pie was projected to be a non-tender candidate this off-season, so this move comes a little early.
After all of the moves this week — with free agents coming off the 40-man, 60-day DL guys going back on the 40-man, and Felix Pie being outrighted, the Pirates are left with 36 players on the 40-man roster. That leaves them a few spots to sign players during the exclusive negotiating window.
Other spots will be needed prior to November 20th, when the Pirates need to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. So it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Pirates make a few more moves well before the non-tender deadline.