Pirates to put Melky Cabrera, Francisco Liriano on Opening Day roster
The Pittsburgh Pirates have committed to outfielder Melky Cabrera and left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano making their Opening Day roster.
Saturday was the deadline for the Pirates to make that decision, per the retention bonus protocol.
The 34-year-old Cabrera, a career .280 hitter, is expected to serve as their fourth outfielder. He has slashed .310/.341/.381 with two doubles and two RBIs in 15 games this spring.
The 35-year-old Liriano, who was 41-36 with a 3.67 ERA as a starter for the Pirates from 2013-15, will work out of the bullpen. He has allowed five runs (all earned) on seven hits, with eight strikeouts and nine walks in 9 2/3 innings, with opponents batting .194 in nine spring appearances.
Both veterans were non-roster invitees to the major-league camp, so the Pirates will need to make moves to create a spot on their 40-man roster.
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Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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