The big question hovering over the Pittsburgh Pirates over the last few days has been: who will the team add to the big-league roster with the extra spots as the calendar turns to September?

On top of that, the Pirates had a couple of different approaches they could have taken with the extra roster spots, too. When they made the final decisions, Pittsburgh opted for the veteran route, adding two players with a wealth of big-league experience.

The Pirates made a rare post-trade-deadline swap with the New York Yankees a few weeks ago, acquiring veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt. Since then, the backstop has been on the team’s taxi squad, but he was officially added to the big-league roster on Tuesday.

Bethancourt might not be in line to get a ton of playing time or starts, but he does represent key catcher depth for the Pirates.

Endy Rodriguez’s season officially came to an end when he underwent hip surgery last week, and he was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Bethancourt on the 40-man roster.

The other two catching options on Pittsburgh's roster are Rafael Flores Jr. and Henry Davis.

The Pirates will be the seventh team Bethancourt has suited up for in his career. Having an experienced catcher could also be a nice boost for Pittsburgh’s still relatively young starting rotation, which has been inconsistent during the second half of the season.

It feels like Bethancourt’s addition will have a larger impact behind the scenes than on the field.

Instead of giving the extra roster spot to a younger arm like Khristian Curtis, the Pirates took a more veteran approach with this addition, too. Pittsburgh opted to recall LHP Brandon Eisert to add to the bullpen.

When manager Don Kelly explained the rationale behind the team choosing Eisert, he said it came down to matchups in Pittsburgh’s upcoming series against the San Francisco Giants.

“The Giants have a lot of left-handed batters in their lineup and on their team,” explained Pittsburgh’s skipper. “Felt like it was a good opportunity to get another lefty up here against them and deploy him against a lot of left-handed guys.”

The explanation does make sense. Eisert has a .196 opponent batting average against left-handed pitchers this year.

The larger question is, will Eisert be an option out of the bullpen for the Pirates the rest of the season, or will Pittsburgh make more roster moves to shake up the bullpen after the Pittsburgh series?