The Pittsburgh Pirates designated relievers Nick Burdi and Dovydas Neverauskas for assignment on Sunday, clearing room on the 40-man roster for the reinstatement of five players from the 60-day injured list.
The Pirates also officially confirmed that they declined the $11 million club option for 2021 on pitcher Chris Archer, making the veteran right-hander a free agent. Archer, 32, was 6-12 with a 4.92 ERA in 33 starts over two seasons with the Pirates after being acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz. Archer missed the 2020 season after undergoing surgery for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.
The Pirates reinstated outfielder Anthony Alford (fractured elbow), infielder-outfielder Phillip Evans (broken jaw) and pitchers Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes and Jameson Taillon, who were all out with elbow injuries. Taillon missed the 2020 season while recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
Neverauskas, the first Lithuanian-born player in MLB history, was 1-4 with a 6.81 ERA and 1.587 WHIP in 80 2/3 innings over 76 games in four seasons with the Pirates. The 27-year-old right-hander was 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.789 WHIP in 19 innings over 17 games this past season.
Burdi underwent a second Tommy John surgery in mid-October and will be out for the next 16-18 months.
