Notes: 40-Man Set After Flurry of Moves; Former Bucs Find Landing Spots

Stuff happening

Notes:

• The Pirates added SS Liover Peguero and OFs Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jack Suwinski and Travis Swaggerty to the 40-man roster. They DFA'ed C Michael Perez to clear a final spot. That left OF Cal Mitchell, LHP Omar Cruz, 1B Mason Martin, and righties Cody Bolton, Eddy Yean & Tahnaj Thomas available for the Rule 5 draft.

Liover Peguero was a no-brainer for the 40-man - 2021 Bowman Chrome

• Pittsburgh released RHP Tanner Anderson, C Taylor Davis and INF/OF Phillip Evans from the 40-man roster. Anderson & Evans were removed right after the season, but apparently the moves didn't become official until this week.
• Bryan Reynolds finished 11th in the MVP race; he's the first Buc since 2015 (Andrew McCutchen & Gerrit Cole) to earn a vote.
• The Pirates dropped seven minor league players; you're a deep diver of the farm system if you recognize more than one or two names: P's Parker Brahms, Argenys Dominguez,  Will Gardner, & Ryan Troutman, OF Osvaldo Gavilan ($700K signing bonus in 2019 as an international free agent) and C's Arden Pabst & Kyle Wilkie.
• RHP Jose Soriano cleared waivers; the Rule 5 selection was offered back to his original team, the Angels, and they reclaimed him. He had a second TJ surgery this year, so he likely won't toss again for the Halos until 2023.
• RHP Connor Overton, cut loose by the Bucs, signed an NRI deal with the Reds.
• LHP Nik Turley, who pitched for the Pirates in 2020 and spent last year in the White Sox system, signed a deal with the Nippon League Hiroshima Carp for $640K + $100K signing bonus.

Eli found a Mile High home - 2019 Pirates image

• Elias Diaz agreed to 3-year extension with Rockies worth $14.5M. It covers his final arb year and two free agent seasons.
• Daniel Moskos, a lefty reliever drafted first (fourth overall) by the Bucs in 2007 and who pitched for them in 2011, was hired as the Cub's assistant MLB pitching coach after mentoring Yankee prospects for the past couple of seasons. Turner Ward, who crashed through the TRS fence as a Bucco OF in 1998,  has joined the Cards' coaching staff as Assistant Hitting Coach.
• It's not confirmed, but reportedly Neil Walker is negotiating to return to Pirates broadcasts in 2022 for as many as 40 or 50 games; his brief audition last year went over well with the fans.