Pirates Select Tyler Heineman, Designate Edwin Uceta

The Pirates announced a batch of roster moves prior to tonight’s game. Catcher Austin Hedges was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list. Fellow catcher Tyler Heineman was selected to take his active roster spot. In order to open a spot for Heineman on the 40-man, right-hander Edwin Uceta was designated for assignment. Additionally, outfielder Ryan Vilade, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Hedges, 30, has long been considered one of the game’s better defensive backstops, though he doesn’t provide much on offense. His career batting line of .189/.247/.330 amounts to a wRC+ of 54, indicating he’s been 46% below league average at the plate. But he’s racked up 75 Defensive Runs Saved since debuting in 2015, the highest total in the majors during that stretch. He signed with the Bucs in the offseason for one year and $5MM, a sensible match given that he could work with the rebuilding club’s young pitching staff.

It’s unclear exactly how Hedges sustained this concussion, but the club will have to proceed without him for at least the next week. Jason Delay is already on the roster and Heineman will now join him to form the club’s catching duo for the time being. Heineman, 32 in June, has 82 games of major league experience with a .214/.279/.276 batting line and +6 DRS. Both he and Delay have options, so either could be sent to the minors when Hedges returns.

Uceta, 25, has changed jerseys quite a few times in the past little while. The Pirates just claimed him off waivers from the Tigers two days ago, with the latter club claiming him off waivers from the Diamondbacks in January. He spent just one year in Arizona, as that club claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers at the end of the 2021 season. He posted a 5.82 ERA for the Snakes last year and a 4.86 mark for their Triple-A club. He only struck out 17.8% of hitters he faced in the big leagues but he had a 32.7% rate in the minors, though that came with a 14% walk rate. The Pirates will now have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers.

Vilade, who just turned 24 in February, has just seven plate appearances of experience in the big leagues, which came with the Rockies in 2021. He struck out once and walked once without recording a hit. A career .281/.357/.410 hitter in the minor leagues, Vilade has experience at each of shortstop, third base, first base, and the three outfield spots during his minor league career. In addition to his positional versatility, Vilade’s fairly low strikeout rate (17.4%) and solid walk rate (10.0%) in the minor leagues indicate a potentially valuable bench piece at the big league level, but for now he’ll wait for an opportunity with the Pirates at Triple-A. As a player with less than three years of big league service time who has not yet been outrighted in his career, Vilade cannot reject his outright assignment.