FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Pirates on Thursday reassigned catcher Elias Diaz and righty Edgar Santana, sending two talented young players to minor league camp in their latest round of cuts.
Diaz was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis, as was infielder Max Moroff. In addition to Santana, Brandon Cumpton, Eury Perez, Dan Runzler, Jason Stoffel, Joey Terdoslavich and Eric Wood were reassigned to minor league camp.
Diaz, 26, will begin the year with Indianapolis and be the first catcher recalled in case of an injury to Francisco Cervelli or Chris Stewart.
“The reality is, [manager] Clint [Hurdle] said it [Thursday] morning to Diaz, we haven’t gone a season where we’ve only needed two catchers,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “Now it’s just a matter of innings, getting him consistent at-bats, consistent opportunities, to prepare for his season.”
Diaz debuted in September 2015 and reached the majors again in July. Elbow surgery and an infection in his leg limited him to 133 plate appearances last season.
Baseball America still ranked Diaz as the No. 10 prospect in the Pirates’ system prior to this season. In 12 spring games, he went 9 for 33 (.273) with a home run.
“We’ve seen some good things offensively, and really it’s making up for some lost time last year due to the injuries and his continued growth and development,” Huntington said.
The 25-year-old Santana struck out 10 batters in seven innings this spring while walking only one. He began last season in A ball, finished it in Triple-A and struck out 18 batters in 13 ⅔ scoreless innings in the Arizona Fall League.
“His rise through our system has been terrific, and it’s for a reason,” Huntington said. “He’s mature. He has a quality pitch arsenal. Still learning how to utilize that. We didn’t really see many changeups this spring and that can be a good pitch for him.”
Moroff won the organization’s minor league player of the year award in 2015, after he hit .293 with a .374 on-base percentage, seven home runs and 70 walks for Class AA Altoona. In Indianapolis last season, his batting average dropped to .230, and his strikeout rate increased by more than 6 percent.
“He has terrific command of the strike zone,” Huntington said. “Now the challenge has been increasing what he’s looking for just a little bit so he can do some damage in early counts, so that he doesn’t give pitchers free strikes as often as he did last year.”
The moves did little to clarify the few remaining unsettled roster spots. Huntington said Chad Kuhl has done nothing to change the fact that he has an inside track to a rotation spot, and the team has not selected a fifth starter. Alen Hanson, Phil Gosselin and Jose Osuna remain options for the final two bench spots.
The number of free bench spots will remain at two because Jung Ho Kang still does not have a visa, and Huntington said Thursday that Kang will not be ready for opening day.
“We remain optimistic we’re going to get him here hopefully sooner than later,” Huntington said. “Now the challenge is if we don’t, if it takes some time, we’ve built this club and feel good about the guys we have here.”
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: March 23, 2017, 1:23 p.m.
Updated: March 23, 2017, 6:54 p.m.