Trio of former Pirates claimed off waivers, leaving a pair of spots open on 40-man roster

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a pair of openings on their 40-man roster after three players were claimed off waivers Friday.

Pitcher Miguel Yajure was claimed by the San Francisco Giants, catcher Ali Sanchez by the Arizona Diamondbacks and first baseman Lewin Diaz by the Baltimore Orioles, all per the MLB transactions page.

The Pirates now have 38 players on their 40-man roster, which leaves them space to add two players entering the winter meetings and pitching and catching are considered positions of priority. The Rule 5 Draft, which is Wednesday, requires that a team have room on the roster in order to select a player.

Yajure and Sanchez were placed on waivers, which doesn’t require an announcement from the team. Diaz was designated for assignment on Wednesday, a day after the Pirates signed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to a one-year, $6.725-million contract and eight days after Diaz was claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins.

Yajure, 24, was part of the four-player return from the New York Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade in January 2021 but never lived up to his billing. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound right-hander was 1-3 with an 8.69 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings over 16 appearances, including four starts, in two seasons with the Pirates. He was 1-1 with an 8.88 ERA and 1.93 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings in 12 games this past season.

The Pirates claimed Sanchez off waivers from the Detroit Tigers on Oct. 18. His exit leaves only one catcher on the 40-man roster, Endy Rodriguez, who was the Pirates’ minor league player of the year and is ranked their No. 1 prospect by Baseball America.

The Pirates previously traded with Tampa Bay for Ji-Man Choi, leaving Diaz the odd man out at first base.