The Pirates reduced their roster down to 40 Saturday, outrighting seven players to Class AAA Indianapolis while activating the remaining six from the 60-day injured list.
The players who passed through waivers include right-handers Chase De Jong, Enyel De Los Santos, Kyle Keller, Connor Overton and Shea Spitzbarth, left-hander Chasen Shreve and utilityman Wilmer Difo.
Shreve has elected free agency. He became one of the Pirates’ late-inning arms in the final months of the season, pitching to a 3.20 ERA over 56 1/3 innings.
Despite being designated for assignment midseason and starting on the taxi squad, Difo played 116 games with the Pirates in 2021, slashing .269/.329/.384 over 240 plate appearances. His 16 hits as a pinch-hitter were tied with Ehire Adrianza of the Braves for the most in baseball. He is eligible to declare himself a free agent.
De Jong made nine starts with the Pirates, pitching to a 5.77 ERA before being hit in the left knee by a comebacker in July, ending his season. Keller had a 6.28 ERA over 32 relief outings.
Spitzbarth was selected in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft last year and made five relief appearances with the Pirates. De Los Santos and Overton were claimed off waivers in September.
On the injury side, left-handers Steven Brault and Dillon Peters, and right-handers Blake Cederlind, Jose Soriano, Duane Underwood Jr. and Bryse Wilson were activated off of the 60-day injured list.
Brault's season was limited to just five outings due to a pair of lat injuries. Peters recorded a 3.71 ERA over six starts. Wilson was acquired from the Braves in the Richard Rodriguez trade and went 3-7 with a 5.35 ERA on the year. Underwood had a 4.33 ERA over 72 2/3 innings of relief.
Cederlind and Soriano were the only ones of the six who did not appear in a major league game in 2021. Cederlind underwent Tommy John surgery in March, and Soriano, a Rule 5 selection, needed a Tommy John revision in June while rehabbing.
There will be more roster moves to come later this month. Prospects eligible for the Rule 5 draft need to be added to the roster by Nov. 19. The Pirates have plenty of minor-leaguers who will need to protected, including Liover Peguero, Travis Swaggerty, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cal Mitchell, Mason Martin, Diego Castillo and Tahnaj Thomas, to name a few. The deadline to non-tender arbitration-eligible players is Dec. 2.
Free agents are eligible to sign with all 30 clubs starting Sunday.
