Pirates sign LHP Eric Lauer, camp cuts include 2023 Opening Day starter, 1st-round pick

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed a veteran pitcher and made five more cuts from major league camp, including a former first-round pick and a 2023 Opening Day starter.

The Pirates announced Tuesday afternoon the formal signing of left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to major league training camp. They also signed 27 pre-arbitration players to contracts for the 2024 season. There are now 50 players in the major league camp.

Outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba, who started in right field in the season opener at the Cincinnati Reds last year, and right-handed reliever Colin Selby were optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, and middle infielder Tsung-Che Cheng was optioned to Double-A Altoona.

Second baseman Termarr Johnson, the No. 4 overall pick in 2022, and third baseman Jack Brannigan were reassigned to minor league camp.

Lauer, 28, is a six-year veteran who was a 2016 first-round pick by the San Diego Padres out of Kent State. He spent the past four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, going 22-20 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 67 games (60 starts). He was 4-6 with a 6.56 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in 10 starts last season before being sidelined by a shoulder impingement.

Smith-Njigba was designated for assignment when lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman signed in January and was claimed by the Seattle Mariners before returning to the Pirates on a waiver claim. Smith-Njigba batted .200 (5 for 25) with three home runs and five RBIs in 10 Grapefruit League games this spring. Selby was hit at a .412 clip this spring and posted an 11.25 ERA in four innings over four appearances.

Cheng, added to the 40-man roster in November, batted .250 (5 for 20) with two homers and three RBIs in 14 games. He finished last season at Altoona.

The 19-year-old Johnson, a top-100 prospect ranked No. 2 in the Pirates’ system by MLB Pipeline, shined this spring by slashing .368/.429/.737 and became the first teenager since Carlos Correa in 2014 to hit two home runs in a spring training game. Brannigan, a former third-round pick who is ranked the Pirates’ No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, batted .059 (1 for 17) in 15 games.

Cheng, Brannigan and Johnson are on the Pirates’ roster for the Spring Breakout showcase game against the Baltimore Orioles’ top prospects at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.