Sanchez, Morel other options at third base

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Gaby Sanchez, the first baseman, spent part of Monday morning's workout at the other corner of the infield, as Pirates manager Clint Hurdle explored alternative options at third base.

A few hours later, Hurdle had another option: The Pirates claimed third baseman Brent Morel on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Morel, 26, was the White Sox's regular third baseman in 2011 and has seen action with the team each of the last four seasons. The Blue Jays had claimed him on waivers in December, then designated him for assignment on Friday.

Morel immediately went on the 40-man roster of the Bucs, who made room for him by designating infielder Chase d'Arnaud for assignment.

Earlier, Sanchez got in a lot of hot corner work, with rookie Andrew Lambo stationed at first during infield drills.

"We're going to give him some innings [in exhibition play] at third," Hurdle had said. "Gaby worked very hard there last year and didn't have many opportunities for innings. We'll give him more and see where he can take it. We need to have a Plan B and a Plan C should something happen to [regular third baseman Pedro Alvarez]."

Morel could be in that alphabet soup. In 126 games as a rookie in 2011, he batted .245 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs. However, in 68 other Major League games since 2010, he has gone 30-for-203 (.148), adding only three more home runs and 13 more RBIs.

Sanchez's experience at third base consists of four innings -- interestingly, the final four innings of the 2013 regular season.