Pirates assign Morgan to Minor Leagues

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Pittsburgh made a series of moves in camp Monday, effectively trimming its roster to 48.

Among those reassigned was Nyjer Morgan, the talented outfielder who's hitting .291 (431-for-1,481) in his four-year Minor League career, and has stolen 164 bases. Morgan, 26, is on the 40-man roster and was optioned to Double-A Altoona, but he didn't see returning to the team where he ended last season as a setback.

"I've always been flying under the radar," he said. "I just wanted to come here and show what I can do, and bring a little bit of excitement to this team. That's my game.

"There's nothing to be disappointed about ... this is a learning experience."

Pitchers Romulo Sanchez, David Davidson and Josh Shortslef, as well as infielder Javier Guzman were also optioned to Altoona, and outfielder Rajai Davis was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Pitchers Franquelis Osoria and Allan Simpson, catcher Carlos Maldonado, infielder Eddy Garabito and outfielder Vic Buttler were reassigned to Minor League camp.

Shortslef, an eight-year veteran of the Minors, said he picked up a lot during the past month.

"The atmosphere is great," he said. "This definitely opened up my eyes and made me work a little bit harder ... a lot of the small things that usually guys don't do, but you definitely do them because you see these [Major Leaguers] taking care of their bodies the way they're supposed to."

General manager Dave Littlefield said the decisions were made, in general, to whittle down the roster to a more manageable number.

"We felt [this group] needed more time in the Minor Leagues ... to refine their skills and their performance," he said.

There are now 23 pitchers, four catchers, 13 infielders and eight outfielders remaining in big-league camp, a number that includes 18 non-roster players. Pittsburgh will break camp at the end of March with 25.