Pirates designate RHP for assignment

The Pirates announced that outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. In a corresponding move, right-hander Chase De Jong was designated for assignment. Their 40-man roster count is now down to 37.

De Jong, 29, has bounced on and off the Pirates’ roster since signing a minor league deal in January of 2021. He had his contract selected that year but spent much of the campaign on the injured list and was outrighted at the season’s end. He returned on another minor league deal in 2022 and ended up having a nice season in Pittsburgh. He had his contract selected in April and eventually posted a 2.64 ERA in 71 2/3 innings.

That was enough for him to keep his roster spot through the winter, though there were reasons to suspect it wasn’t fully sustainable. His .222 batting average on balls in play and 86.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side, leading to a 4.74 FIP and 4.38 SIERA. His luck has swung the other way this year in a small sample, as he has a .308 BABIP and 51.1% strand rate, leading to a 13.50 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Beyond the luck, his 20.1% strikeout rate from last year is down to just 11.7% so far this year, while he’s also allowed six homers in that short time frame.

The righty was already designated for assignment in May, after which he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Indianapolis. He had the right to elect free agency based on previous career outrights but opted to accept and got his roster spot back a few days ago. He made one appearance since then, allowing six earned runs in two innings on Tuesday. Based on his rough season, it now seems possible that the same sequence of events will play out again, with De Jong being put on waivers and clearing. If that comes to pass, he would once again have the right to elect free agency but might simply accept an outright assignment as he did a few weeks ago.