BRADENTON, Fla. -- Outfielder Ben Grieve, a former AL Rookie of the Year, and reliever Mark Corey were reassigned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday as the Pittsburgh Pirates settled on their season-opening 25-man roster.
Right-hander reliever Rick White's contract was purchased from Indianapolis in a procedural move after he beat out Corey for the 12th and final spot on the pitching staff. White, who pitched last season for Cleveland, returns to the team he broke into the majors with in 1994.
The 36-year-old White has since pitched with seven other teams. The Pirates are his sixth team in four seasons.
The Pirates also traded for Dodgers catcher David Ross, who became expendable after the team acquired Jason Phillips, Paul Bako and Dioner Navarro. Ross, 28, hit only .170 with five homers and 15 RBI last season. He was hitting only .105 this spring with one homers and two RBI.
The Dodgers will receive cash for Ross.
It is uncertain how Ross fits into the Pirates' plans since they will start the season with Benito Santiago and Humberto Cota in Pittsburgh and have prospects Ryan Doumit, Ronny Paulino and Neil Walker, their first-round draft pick last season, in the minors.
Grieve hit .355 with no homers and nine RBI this spring as a non-roster outfielder, but had played sparingly of late as it became obvious he would not make the team. He asked the Pirates for some time to make up his mind about reporting to Indianapolis, since he has the option to become a free agent.
"I'd have to get readjusted to minor league life," he said. "I've been in the big leagues for seven years and no one wants to go back and play in the minor leagues again."
Grieve, 28, was the AL Rookie of the Year with Oakland in 1998, hitting .288 with 18 homers and 89 RBI, then hit 28 and 27 homers respectively each of the next two seasons. But he has had only 12 homers the last two seasons with Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and the Cubs, and he was criticized by Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella for his lack of aggressiveness.
altermoor 
