The Pirates designated infielder Josh VanMeter for assignment Wednesday, minutes before they began a doubleheader with the Mets.
That ended up being just one of a flurry of roster moves the Pirates made Wednesday, as the claimed first baseman/catcher Zack Collins off waivers from the Blue Jays and right-hander Junior Fernández from the Cardinals.
Left-hander Cam Vieaux was designated for assignment to clear the other spot on the 40 man roster.
Both Collins and Fernández were optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis.
Hoy Park will take VanMeter's spot on the major-league roster.
"There were a couple situations there," Derek Shelton said on why they made the decision to cut ties with VanMeter. "Number one, we made the two waivers claims, so we were going to need a roster spot. Number two, just different opportunities. We've talked about different opportunities for different people. Hoy's been swinging the bat well, so we just felt it was the right time to get him back to the big leagues."
The 2022 season has not been kind for VanMeter, who was first designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks in March. The Pirates acquired him shortly before the season started to provide some infield depth, and he certainly bounced around the diamond. He played six positions on the season -- the only exceptions being left field, center field and shortstop -- which included an emergency inning in Cincinnati at catcher and pitching three times.
Defensive versatility wasn't the issue, though. The bat was, as VanMeter slashed just .187/.266/.292 in his 192 trips to the plate this year, homering three times with 14 RBIs. Baseball Reference measured his value at -1.1 WAR.
While he continued to be rostered, VanMeter had scarcely played of late, starting just three games since August 12 with only 15 plate appearances during that stretch.
Between Josh VanMeter and Yoshi Tsutsugo, the Pirates had two players this year with 190 PAs whose slash line was .187/.266/.292 or worse in all three statistics.
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) September 7, 2022
From 1893-2021, the Pirates had two such seasons from anyone who wasn't a pitcher or catcher
Park has been swinging a hot bat of late, racking up eight hits in his final three games with Indianapolis.
"We'll mix him into the rotation," Shelton said. "How much he's going to play right now, I don't think we've fully determined yet. We'll probably figure that out after the off-day [Thursday]."
Collins, 27, is a former top 100 prospect with the White Sox. While he has shown great patience and an ability to earn free passes in the minors this year (20.6 BB%), he's also struck out more than his fair share, resulting in a .195/.361/.398 slash line for the Blue Jays' Class AAA affiliate and a .194/.266/.417 line with four home runs over 79 major-league plate appearances.
Last year with the White Sox he had -18 defensive runs saved as a catcher, with about 14 of them being a product of poor framing.
VanMeter has been the defacto backup first baseman for most of the season, a position the Pirates do not have much depth in outside of Micheal Chavis. Collins provides some depth there.
Fernández, 25, has some respectable major-league numbers this year in a small sample size, recording a 2.93 ERA over 15 1/3 frames out of the Cardinals' bullpen. He has not fared as well in the minors, where he had a 5.45 ERA with their Class AAA affiliate.
He does have a power sinker, averaging 98.8 mph on it. He also relies on a slider and changeup, though the breaking ball does not get much movement.
This is the last year either Collins or Fernández can be optioned.
Vieaux, 28, has allowed 10 runs with five walks and two homers in 8 2/3 major-league innings this season. This is the second time he has been designated for assignment during his rookie season.
The roster is currently full at 40 players.
