40 Man Roster

The Pirates have to prepare for the Winter Meetings and have the 40 man roster set by November 20th. They have some work to do because they have to add Brad Lincoln and Gorky Hernandez before that time.

The Pirates currently have 41 (2 on the 60 DL) men on their roster and need to make room for 2 more. So three spots are needed. That gives room for Lincoln and Hernandez. I think the Pirates will leave off Bryan Morris, Jim Negrych, and Shelby Ford.

So let’s see if I can predict who will be removed. I am betting Virgil Vasquez is released. As will be Luis Cruz, the short stop. That gives us two spots without any harm done to the team or really any hard decisions. The easiest thing would be for the Pirates to trade Robinson Diaz for a person who did not have to be put on the 40 man Roster. But, I am not sure Diaz can bring that and there is a time limit on this trade happening, so let us assume that Diaz stays on the roster, although I doubt he will be on it by Spring Training.

This makes the most likely candidates Phil Dumatrait and Steven Jackson. One of these two will probably be the one released. There is an outside shot that Ronald Uviedo would be released. So, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the Pirates are not yet ready to give up on Phil Dumatrait, and that Steven Jackson will be released. That frees up the necessary third spot.

So, in recap I believe that Vasquez and Cruz are going to be dropped in order to make room for Lincoln and Hernandez, and I think Jackson will dropped to make room for Meek (and Ascino will be on the roster as well). We will see how right I am by the 20th.