Mark Mathias: Heads to open market

Mathias (shoulder) elected to become a free agent Friday.

Mathias rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento after being pushed off the 40-man roster by San Francisco on Wednesday. The utility player went 14-for-62 (.226) with a .591 OPS in 27 major-league games this year between the Pirates and Giants before suffering a season-ending shoulder strain in mid-August.