Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has done a lot of roster housekeeping over the last couple of weeks.

The Pirates have designated 10 players for assignment, dropping them off the 40-man roster. Most of the cuts were expected, though a case could be made for keeping right-handed relievers Colin Holderman and Dauri Moreta, along with intriguing infielder Liover Peguero.

Seven minor-leaguers have been added to the 40-man, preventing them from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft next month at the Winter Meetings in Orlando. Protecting that many players is a sign that the Pirates' farm system is healthy after some years in the doldrums.

The next round of roster decisions comes on Friday. Teams must decide whether to offer players contracts and potentially go through salary arbitration with them, or non-tender them, which would result in their release.

The Pirates have seven arbitration-eligible players after dropping Holderman and Moreta on Tuesday. While the Pirates often get criticized, and justly so, for making decisions based on finances, that was not the case with Holderman and Moreta. MLB Trade Rumors projected them to make a combined $2.5 million, Holderman at $1.7 million, and Moreta at $800,000.

Here are the seven remaining arb-eligibles and MLBTR's salary projection: center fielder Oneil Cruz ($3.6 million), closer Dennis Santana ($3.4 million), catcher Joey Bart ($2.7 million), right-hander Johan Oviedo ($2 million), outfielder Jack Suwinski ($1.7 million) and relievers Justin Lawrence ($1.2 million) and Yohan Ramirez ($1.2 million).

So, who will the Pirates offer contracts to? Cruz, Santana, Bart, Oviedo, and Lawrence will almost certainly return in 2026.

That leaves Suwinski and Ramirez as non-tender candidates. The Pirates have tough decisions to make on both players.

In 2023, Suwinski hit a team-leading 26 home runs and stole 13 bases. However, he has been awful since then, hitting .169/.271/.297 with 12 homers across 147 games combined in 2024 and 2025.

Based on the statistics, it would be an easy decision to move on from Suwinski. However, he is 27 and would be a cheap source of power for the Pirates, who were last in MLB in runs scored and home runs last season, if they can get his career turned around.

Ramirez is the epitome of a journeyman, having played for eight teams in his six-year career. Ramirez had a 5.40 ERA in 24 games with the Pirates this past season, and his career mark is 4.71 ERA in 164 games. Yet the 30-year-old has value in his durability, as he is willing to take the ball regardless of the situation.

What should the Pirates do? My unsolicited advice is to tender Suwinski and non-tender Ramirez.

Power hitters are hard to find, especially for low-payroll teams. To use a term from Moneyball, relievers are fungible.