The Pirates traded first baseman Ike Davis to the Oakland Athletics Sunday in exchange for international signing bonus money.

The Pirates received the Athletics’ first bonus slot, No. 27 overall, worth $501,900. The Pirates also sent their third bonus slot, No. 86 overall at $232,000, to Oakland.

The Pirates designated Davis for assignment Thursday as part of space-clearing moves on the 40-man roster so they could protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft.

Davis, 27, served as the left-handed half of the first-base platoon after the Pirates acquired him in April from the New York Mets. He hit .235 with a .343 on-base percentage and 10 home runs with the Pirates.

The Pirates decided that Pedro Alvarez will play first base in 2015 after 24 throwing errors cost him his job as the starting third baseman. Because Davis and Alvarez are eligible for arbitration and left-handed, the Pirates were not going to keep both.

Changes to the most recent collective bargaining agreement instituted limits on how much a team can spend on international amateur players.

Teams have a bonus pool that they face penalties for exceeding, with the pool amount based on their record in the previous season. Slot values exist for trading purposes. The Pirates now have $2,199,400 in their pool, some of which already has already been spent.

Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.

First Published: November 23, 2014, 10:26 p.m.
Updated: November 24, 2014, 2:58 a.m.