The Pirates' roster shakeup got underway Friday, jettisoning seven players from the roster and claiming another player off of waivers.
Utility player Kevin Kramer, catcher Luke Maile, right-hander Yacksel Rios and outfielder Jason Martin were all reinstated from the 60-day injured list and outrighted off the 40-man roster. Catcher John Ryan Murphy also cleared waivers and was outrighted.
Additionally, left-hander Brandon Waddell was claimed by the Twins and right-hander Nick Tropeano was claimed by the Mets.
The Pirates' 40-man roster currently sits at 36, but they will still need to add players from the injured list by Sunday at 5 p.m. That means they will need to clear at least three more spots by then.
After removing two catchers from the roster, the Pirates claimed Rays backup Michael Perez off waivers to be in the mix for a backup spot.
The 28-year-old, left-handed hitter Perez slashed .167/.237/.238 with one home run and 13 RBIs in 93 plate appearances for the Rays during the regular season. He went 2-for-7 with a home run in the postseason for them. He has a good defensive reputation, amassing four defensive runs saved over 549 career innings played in parts of three seasons in the majors. However, he has been graded as a slightly below average pitch framer in the last two years.
Perez has four years of team control remaining, and won't be arbitration eligible until 2022 at the earliest.
While Jacob Stallings emerged as a starter and was nominated for a Gold Glove in 2020, there are questions on who will be his backup next year. Murphy batted .172 with a .433 OPS over 25 games played this season. Maile was originally positioned to be Stallings' backup, but had season-ending right index finger surgery during summer camp.
Perez still has two option years remaining, so the Pirates could look for another catcher either on the trade market or in free agency, or just go with Perez as the backup.
As for the players the Pirates outrighted, the two biggest names are Kramer and Martin. Kramer missed all over 2020 after undergoing right hip surgery in May. A second-round pick in 2015, at one point Kramer was one of the more intriguing bats in the Pirates' system, but he slashed an anemic .152/.222/.167 over 90 appearances in 2018 and 2019. He also struggled at the plate in the minors in 2019.
Martin was acquired as part of the Pirates' infamous Gerrit Cole deal during the 2017-2018 offseason and originally looked like a potential steal after he clobbered pitching in Class AA Altoona. However, he had a hard time adjusting to Class AAA and slashed .200/.294/.244 over 51 plate appearances with the Pirates the past two seasons. The Pirates recalled him from the alternate training site on five separate occasions this season, but he had only 11 plate appearances.
Waddell was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. He made his first two major-league appearances in 2020, allowing one earned run over 3 1/3 innings pitched. Tropeano was claimed off waivers by the Yankees in mid-August and pitched to a 1.15 ERA over 15 2/3 innings, almost exclusively in a mop up role. Rios was outrighted off the roster right before summer camp began, but was promoted back to the majors midseason and allowed four runs over four frames.