BRADENTON, Fla. -- With the season a week away, the Pirates have altered the calculus of their Opening Day roster, acquiring infielder Josh VanMeter in exchange for RHP Listher Sosa in a deal with the D-backs on Thursday night.

To make room for VanMeter on the 40-man roster, the Pirates have designated outfielder Jared Oliva for assignment.

The late addition of VanMeter provides the Pirates with another option for their initial roster, one who will likely make the team. Manager Derek Shelton announced after Friday's game that he would "expect [VanMeter] to be with us."

It was jointly announced by MLB and the MLBPA on Thursday that rosters will temporarily expand from 26 to 28 (or 29 for doubleheaders) with no limitation on how many pitchers a team can carry to begin the year, though teams must cut down to 26 players with a maximum of 13 pitchers on May 2.

Given the condensed Spring Training schedule and the introduction of the universal designated hitter, the Pirates might opt to carry two extra pitchers and keep their bench to three players -- a backup catcher, infielder and outfielder. They could, of course, also choose to add one pitcher and one position player, but the inability for pitchers to fully ramp up as normal makes the former path more likely.

Catcher Michael Perez and outfielder Anthony Alford, who Shelton said is day to day with a right hand injury, will likely take up the first two spots on the bench -- though the Pirates will have to make room on the 40-man roster for Perez, who was designated for assignment but cleared waivers last November. That leaves the Pirates to decide who will be their backup infielder, of which they have many choices.

Along with VanMeter, Michael Chavis, Diego Castillo and Hoy Park are all in the mix to crack the Opening Day roster. All four have played at least three different positions in the infield. VanMeter and Park, in particular, have meaningful experience as outfielders.

“With the exception of our first basemen, we have everybody on the diamond that can play multiple positions,” manager Derek Shelton said on Wednesday. “When you have guys that can play three or four, it becomes even more valuable to a roster.”

Among those four candidates, Castillo has built the strongest case to break with the team out of camp. The 24-year-old has hit four home runs this week alone, including a two-homer game on Wednesday against the Twins. Castillo has far and away been the Pirates’ best player during Spring Training, hitting .364/.417/.909 while impressing defensively at multiple positions.

“We knew when we acquired him that his baseball acumen was really high,” Shelton said. “We got that from a lot of guys with the Yankees who just talked about how good a baseball player he is. I think you appreciate that. You watch him and he’s very steady for a guy who doesn’t have a lot of upper-level experience.”

While Castillo has yet to make his big league debut, VanMeter has three seasons under his belt and had an opportunity to exhibit his versatility, having spent time at first base, second base, third base, left field and right field. VanMeter has also played more than 800 innings at shortstop in the Minor Leagues, though he’s yet to have had that opportunity in a big league game.

Of the positions VanMeter has played at the Major League level, he’s spent the most time at second base, logging 570 innings at the position. VanMeter has totaled three career defensive runs saved at second base, but graded out poorly last season, recording -2 defensive runs saved in 372 1/3 innings.

At the plate, VanMeter is a career .212/.300/.364 hitter with a 75 wRC+. VanMeter had an encouraging rookie season with the Reds, hitting eight home runs and stealing nine bases with an 88 wRC+ across 260 plate appearances, but struggled to replicate that production upon being traded to the D-backs.