Potential upcoming Pirates roster moves

Over at his other site, David Todd looks at roster moves the Pirates might make in the next few weeks. With a bunch of players on rehab assignments and with active rosters expanding to 40 in September, there are many potential moves, so here's a look at what might happen. Every year, there are some moves that are faintly surprising, since the Pirates tend to think about the back end of their roster a little differently than we do, so keep that in mind. Also, keep in mind that Indianapolis' season will be a consideration -- Indy is in first place in its division, and the Pirates will likely wait to promote certain players until after Indianapolis' season ends.

• Jordy Mercer, Rob Scahill and Corey Hart are currently on rehab assignments. The Pirates just activated Josh Harrison and designated Josh Wall. Mercer will also likely be activated shortly. Scahill will be back as well. Hart is on the 60-day DL. I'm not sure I see the point in bumping someone else off the 40-man roster so that Hart can return, but it would be strange if the Pirates were simply having him rehab as a charade. In any case, he won't play much.
• A.J. Burnett's return date is unknown, but he'll hopefully be back at some point next month.
• Vance Worley, Radhames Liz and Travis Snider will all likely be added to the 40-man roster and promoted. As David notes, Pedro Florimon, who's currently in DFA limbo, is another possibility if he remains with the organization.
• Other potential candidates to be added include Dan Gamache (an interesting bat who will be Rule 5-eligible this offseason anyway) and Keon Broxton (who's hit well in the second half, is also Rule 5-eligible, and would provide speed and defense off the bench). Those guys would likely only come up once Indianapolis' season is over, however. The Bucs also might be reluctant to mess around with too many 40-man additions, too, given how well they're playing and given how many players they'd have to expose to waivers.
• Other potential additions to the active roster include Bobby LaFromboise, Elias Diaz, Alen Hanson, Jaff Decker and Tony Sanchez. All are currently on the 40-man.
• The Pirates will need to clear 40-man spots for Worley, Liz and Snider. Deolis Guerra could head to the 60-day DL, and Travis Ishikawa and Sanchez could potentially come off the roster. Wall's DFA also clears one spot.

Note: This post has been corrected to accurately reflect Mercer's status, and I removed a bit about Gift Ngoepe, since he's currently on the minor league DL. This is what I get for trying to write after three days on the road.