Pittsburgh acquired both players in trades, getting Garcia from the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 4 in a five-player trade that saw them send back right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo<\/a>, plus added Callihan on March 4 in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Kyle Nicolas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both players were pushing for a spot on the Opening Day roster, but will now have to wait before making their Pirates debut at the MLB level.<\/p>\n What These Moves Mean for the Pirates Opening Day Roster<\/p>\n Garcia has had a strong showing from the plate in Spring Training, maybe the best of any Pirates player. He has slashed .405\/.463\/.595 for an OPS of 1.058 in 17 games, with 15 hits in 37 at-bats, a double, two home runs, five RBI, four walks to 10 strikeouts and three stolen bases.<\/p>\n The Pirates have high expectations of Garcia, who they see as a big-time power<\/a> bat of the future, but it didn’t appear he would earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh already had four outfielders ahead of him, with Bryan Reynolds<\/a> in left field, Oneil Cruz<\/a> in center field and new free agent signing Ryan O’Hearn<\/a> in right field, plus Jake Mangum<\/a> off the bench, who they added in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19.<\/p>\n The Pirates also signed free agent Marcell Ozuna<\/a> as their designated hitter, which made Garcia’s right-handed bat less needed immediately. <\/p>\n Feb 25, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (24) prepares to take batting practice before the start of the game against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Garcia would either hardly get reps or rarely play if he did make the roster, so going down to Indianapolis will give him more at-bats and also more starts in the outfield to continue his development.<\/p>\n Callihan is a utility player and can feature at numerous positions, but he was always going to be one of the last players to make the Opening Day roster if he did so.<\/p>\n He plays all infield positions, besides shortstop, and can feature in left field. Like Garcia, he will get more opportunities in the minors, so he’ll still get a chance to show he can play with the Pirates throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n This does signify that Nick Yorke<\/a> will now likely make the roster as the Pirates’ main utility option off the bench, as he plays all the spots that Callihan does. Yorke will serve as depth at third base and second base, plus play in both corner outfield spots when needed.<\/p>\n Other Spring Training Cuts the Pirates Have Made<\/p>\n The Pirates have cut 28 players so far in Spring Training and need to get down to a 26-man roster for Opening Day on March 26, with nine more players to cut over the next five days.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh’s\u00a0first round<\/a>\u00a0of cuts occurred on March 8, as they optioned both\u00a0infielder<\/a>\u00a0Jack Brannigan and right-handed relief pitcher\u00a0Ryan Harbin<\/a>\u00a0to Triple-A.<\/p>\n Brannigan suffered a broken nose vs. vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. on Feb. 22 and hasn’t played since that incident, while Harbin suffered an arm injury to his teres major and lat musculature, which has him on the no-throw list for six weeks and he’ll remain out until early April.<\/p>\n The Pirates’ second round of Spring Training cuts happened on March 9 and\u00a0included<\/a>\u00a0optioning four right-handed pitchers in Brandon Bidois, Wilber Dotel,\u00a0Thomas Harrington<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Antwone Kelly<\/a>, plus outfielder\u00a0Esmerlyn Valdez<\/a>\u00a0to Indianapolis.<\/p>\n Mar 6, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Netherlands pitcher Antwone Kelly (58) pitches in the first inning against Venezuela at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Pittsburgh also reassigned catcher Omar Alfonzo, outfielder Mitch Jebb and right-handed pitcher\u00a0Khristian Curtis<\/a>\u00a0to minor league camp.<\/p>\n The Pirates made a third round of Spring Training cuts on March 12, as they reassigned eight players to minor league camp.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh\u00a0moved<\/a>\u00a0position players in outfielder Ronny Simon, catcher Derek Berg and infielders in Nick Cimillo,\u00a0Duce Gorson<\/a>,\u00a0Termarr Johnson<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Davis Wendzel<\/a>\u00a0and left-handed pitchers in Nick Dombkowski and Oddanier Mosqueda.<\/p>\n The Pirates’\u00a0fourth round<\/a>\u00a0of cuts saw them option infielder Enmanuel Valdez to Indianapolis and reassign outfielder Dominic Fletcher to minor league camp on March 16.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh made their\u00a0fifth round<\/a>\u00a0of Spring Training cuts on March 17, which included reassigning right-handed pitchers in\u00a0Beau Burrows<\/a>, Michael Darrell-Hicks, Noah Davis and Noah Murdock to minor league camp and optioning left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk to Indianapolis.<\/p>\n The Pirates last made a roster cut on March 19, when they optioned catcher\/first baseman Endy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> to Triple-A.<\/p>\n![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01km8es9a36ew8ncb8vc.jpg\" "\\"Pittsburgh")
<\/p>\n![\"Netherlands](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01km8epw6n8tx6knbyan.jpg\" "\\"Netherlands")
<\/p>\n