Pittsburgh Pirates Place Former Rockies Top Prospect On Waivers

The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated Ryan Vilade for assignment, following his failure to secure a spot on the team's Opening Day roster.

Vilade, a 24-year-old outfielder, was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies in November. While once ranked among the Rockies' top prospects, he struggled during his second stint at Triple-A, hitting just .249/.345/.352 with five homers and ten steals in 99 games.

DFA'D: #Pirates have designated OF Ryan Vilade for assignment.

— MLB Transaction Tracker (@MLBMovesTracker) March 30, 2023

Vilade had moved from shortstop to the outfield corners but failed to impress during spring training, going 3-for-18 without any extra-base hits and finishing with a .167/.211/.167 line in 19 plate appearances.

For his minor-league career, however, Vilade holds a solid .281/.357/.410 triple-slash line, with 35 home runs, 221 RBIs, 69 stolen bases, and 341 runs scored across 504 games played.

We have added C Jason Delay and LHP Rob Zastryzny to the active roster.

To make room on the 40-man roster, LHP Jarlín García has been placed on the 60-day injured list and OF Ryan Vilade has been designated for assignment.

RHP JT Brubaker and RHP Robert Stephenson have been…

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 30, 2023

He's a former second-round pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2017 MLB Draft.

With his designation for assignment, Vilade now enters a period of uncertainty, as the Pirates have a week to trade, release, or outright him to the minors.

He could definitely draw some attention on waivers, however. Photo Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports