The Pirates have designated right-hander John Holdzkom and infielders Pedro Florimon and Jake Goebbert for assignment, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. In related moves, catcher Elias Diaz, right-hander Jared Hughes, and infielder Jung Ho Kang have been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 25th (link). All of these moves will allow Pittsburgh to promote infielder Cole Figueroa, outfielder Matt Joyce, and left-hander Cory Luebke to active roster (link).
Florimon is regarded as a very strong defensive player and was hoping to break camp with the team as a reserve infielder. Even though he provides value with his glove, the 29-year-old’s offense leaves much to be desired. In parts of five big league seasons with the Orioles, Twins, and Bucs, Florimon owns a .199/.262/.295 slash line. In parts of three Triple-A campaigns, he has posted a stronger .252/.317/.366 slash line.
Goebbert, 28, inked a major league pact with the Pirates in November. In 2015, the first/baseman outfielder spent the season with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .294/.392/.452 with 10 home runs. Now, Goebbert will look to hook on elsewhere as a left-handed bat off of the bench, though he may have to settle for a minor league deal this time around.
As shown in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, Michael Bourn (Braves), Emilio Bonifacio (Braves), Samuel Freeman (Rangers), and A.J. Jimenez (Blue Jays) are also in DFA limbo.
I wouldn’t mind if any of these 3 were picked up to serve as depth on the jays
Bucs had some really tough roster decisions to make. I don’t think that there’s any way that all 3 of these guys make it through waivers. I really, really hope Holdzkom makes it through, and I like Florimon’s game for depth: he’s fantastic defensively at multiple positions, has good speed, and showed a little pop with the bat this spring. Goebbert would be very unlikely to ever crack the Bucs roster barring injury.
By my count, this still leaves the Bucs with 26 players. That decision is based on whether Michael Morse has to start the season on the DL or not. If he does, Jason Rogers stays in the bigs; if not, Rogers has an option and goes to AAA.
Rogers was optioned to AAA
I think Florimon would fit perfect with the Mets
I agree, with Asdrubel Cabrera and Neil Walker up the middle, some defensive depth wouldn’t be a bad idea… Their willingness to cut ties with Tejada, however, tells me they’re not looking for depth.
Bummer for Goebbert. He seemed like a nice fit for the roster back when he was signed, but Jaso and Joyce made him redundant. Hope he can find playing time somewhere.
Goebbert could be a good add for the Indians. We obviously need OF help, also 1B depth is weak (Aguilar).
Happy for Luebke, he’s a good egg.. Padres could use him in their pen..