Yesterday at 6 p.m. was the deadline for MLB teams to add players to their 40-man rosters to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
After Ben Cherington and the Pirates cut IF/OF Phillip Evans, catcher Austin Davis, and RHP Tanner Anderson on Tuesday, that dropped their roster to 37. On Friday, it was brought back up to 40, adding three minor leaguers and cutting backup catcher Michael Perez.
One of the added shouldn’t come as a shock: shortstop Liover Peguero, the Pirates’ number five prospect. Two outfielders now on the roster went to the Bucs in high-profile trades: Canaan Smith-Njigba, who was brought over from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade, and Jack Suwinski, who was part of the trade that sent Adam Frazier to the Padres.