Rays claim Jake Goebbert from Pirates

The Rays have claimed 1B/OF Jake Goebbert from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin tweets.

The Bucs designated Goebbert for assignment (along with Pedro Florimon and John Holdzkom) when they set their roster for Opening Day. They'd signed him over the offseason after he spent the previous year and a half in the Padres organization.

That Goebbert got a big-league contract was already a little bit surprising, since he didn't play in the big leagues last year. Then he got buried on the depth chart when the Pirates a bunch of higher-profile first base options, including John Jaso, Jason Rogers and David Freese. Goebbert would have been nice depth to have at Indianapolis, and I thought his big-league contract was pretty likely to ensure he would make it there. But I'm sure the Pirates also don't mind being out from under whatever money they promised him.