The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost right fielder Jerry Sands on waivers to the Tampa Bay Rays. Earlier today, we heard that Ryan Reid was picked up by the New York Mets. Both Sands and Reid were designated for assignment on December 13th when the Pirates officially signed Edinson Volquez and Clint Barmes and added them to the 40 man roster.
Sands came over to the Pirates last December in the Joel Hanrahan trade with the Boston Red Sox. Sands was a very early cut during Spring Training this year and spent the season with the AAA Indianapolis Indians, where he hit .207/.311/.329 in 106 games. He was playing Winter ball in Puerto Rico this off-season and was having trouble there as well. He hit .238, with 26 strikeouts in 25 games. He recently returned home.
With the acquisition of Jaff Decker from the Padres, the emergence of Andrew Lambo and both Travis Snider and Jose Tabata returning, there wasn’t much room for Sands in the Pirates system.