Pirates protect Endy Rodriguez, 3 others from Rule 5 Draft in 40-man roster moves

The Pittsburgh Pirates protected four players from the Rule 5 Draft by adding them to the 40-man roster Tuesday, creating some positions of need in the process.

The Pirates added a pair of top-10 prospects in right-handed pitchers Mike Burrows and catcher Endy Rodriguez, as well as right-handed reliever Colin Selby and third baseman Jared Triolo.

To make room, the Pirates designated catcher Tyler Heineman, right-handed relievers Jeremy Beasley and Junior Fernandez and lefty reliever Manny Banuelos for assignment. The Pirates acquired Banuelos from the New York Yankees in July, and he made 31 appearances. Beasley was acquired from Toronto in August, and Fernandez was claimed off waivers from St. Louis in September.

That left the Pirates without a left-hander on their pitching staff and with two catchers who have played a combined seven major league games. They all belong to Ali Sanchez, who was claimed off waivers from Detroit last month.

Of the eight players who caught for the Pirates last season, Roberto Perez is a free agent and seven others have been designated for assignment. Heineman, who batted .211 in 52 games, joins Zack Collins, Jason Delay, Jose Godoy, Andrew Knapp, Michael Perez and Josh Van Meter.

The Pirates have a potential solution in rising star Rodriguez, who received their Honus Wagner Award as Minor League Player of the Year last week after slashing .323/.407/.590 with 39 doubles, 25 home runs and 95 RBIs across three levels and leading all qualified minor leaguers with a .997 OPS. He started the season at High-A Greensboro, was promoted to Double-A Altoona in August and finished it batting .455 in six games at Triple-A Indianapolis in September.

The 22-year-old Rodriguez, acquired from the New York Mets in the three-team trade that sent Joe Musgrove to San Diego in January 2021, is ranked the Pirates’ No. 6 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline and a top-100 prospect by both outlets.

Burrows, 23, also had a breakthrough season. Ranked the Pirates’ No. 5 prospect by Baseball America and No. 8 by MLB Pipeline, the 2018 11th-round pick had a 2.94 ERA and .199 batting average against at Double-A Altoona and was selected to the Futures Game at All-Star weekend. He finished the season at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Triolo, 24, shined at Altoona, where he ranked second in batting (.282), third in on-base percentage (.376) and seventh in hits (120). A minor league Gold Glove winner last year, he was honored with the Bill Mazeroski Award as the Pirates’ best defensive player in the minors for the second consecutive season.

Selby, 25, split his season between Altoona and Indianapolis, compiling a 2-3 record with a 2.27 ERA and eight saves in 29 appearances. A 16th-round pick in 2018, Selby allowed just one home run in 32 2/23 innings with the Curve and shined in the Arizona Fall League, where he gave up one run in nine appearances.

The Pirates exposed a handful of top-30 prospects to the Rule 5 Draft, which will be conducted Dec. 7 at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. The list includes first baseman Malcom Nunez, acquired from St. Louis in the Jose Quintana trade; right-handed pitcher Tahnaj Thomas; outfielder Matt Gorski, who was named their minor league slugger of the year; catcher Abrahan Gutierrez; and infielders Maikol Escotto, Dariel Lopez and Andres Alvarez.

Players selected in the Rule 5 Draft must remain on their team’s 26-man roster for the entire season or go through waivers and be offered back to their original team. The major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft was canceled last year because of the lockout.