And just like that, there goes Hutchison, optioned to Class AAA

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Well, that really was too much.

Less than 24 hours after allowing 21 earned runs over his past three Grapefruit League starts, the Pirates optioned Drew Hutchison to Class AAA Indianapolis on Wednesday morning.



“We’ve seen some flashes of the guy we felt like we were getting when we traded for him," Neal Huntington said after the move. "We've seen the crispness of the fastball, the ability to keep it out of the middle of the plate, the sharpness of the breaking ball and a very effective changeup. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen way too much of the fastball catching too much of the plate and the other pitches not being as sharp.”

After a slight pause, he continued, "While we still believe he can help us win at the major-league level, as we talked about yesterday, we've got some guys ahead of him right now. We'll get him out there, get him in the rotation, get him aggressive ... let him get after it, let it fly. That's the guy we need out there every pitch, not just after giving up runs."

The means that the battle for the final spot in the starting rotation is down to a pair of right-handers: Tyler Glasnow and Trevor Williams.

Huntington sounded as if he knew who's won but wasn't saying.

"Not for public consumption," he said. "We still need to see some things play out over these next couple days. There are some things that are in their control, some things that are out of their control."

Hutchison, 26, has a 10.02 ERA in 20 2/3 innings this spring. Opponents batted  .363 with five home runs.

Acquired in the trade that sent Francisco Liriano and minor-league prospects Harold Ramírez and Reese McGuire to Toronto last August, Hutchison is due $2.3 million this season no matter where he pitches. But, he still has minor-league options so he doesn't have to pass through waivers to arrive in Indianapolis.

There are 32 players left in camp.