The Post-Gazette is reporting that the pirates have made 8 more cute from their spring roster this morning, not the least of which is Kevin Hart, thought by many when spring began to be the leader in the 5th starter duel with Daniel McCutchen.  This, of course, means that McCutchen will be the 5th starter when the season begins, with the chance to hold that job down long term.

Hart v. McCutchen has been an ongoing debate all spring among fans, and the argument basically comes down to Hart’s upside against McCutchen’s consistency and competitiveness.  McCutchen has out-pitched Hart all Spring, but given comments from management indicating that the 5th starter job was Hart’s to lose, this move comes as at least a bit of a surprise.  But with how mightily Hart has struggled to even find the strike zone, it just didn’t make any sense to bring him north with the team.

The other cuts were Chris Jakubauskas, Neil Walker, Brian Myrow, Hector Gimenez, Brian Burres, Wil Ledezma and Jean Machi.