Pirates optioned INF Matt Hague to Triple-A Indianapolis. Hague had been serving as depth on the bench behind Garrett Jones, Casey McGehee and Pedro Alvarez, but will be better served playing every day at Triple-A. The move was made to clear a roster spot for Charlie Morton.

Matt Hague will make his major league debut in Saturday's game against the Phillies. Hague will start at first base and hit fifth. Neil Walker drops to sixth in the order. Jose Tabata replaces Alex Presley at the leadoff slot.

Matt Hague homered in a second straight game Saturday and now has six homers for the spring. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for the Pirates to carry four corner infielders in Garrett Jones, Pedro Alvarez, Casey McGehee and Hague, so unless they change their minds and stick Alvarez in Triple-A where he belongs, Hague remains likely to be the odd man out. Of course, if they do drop Alvarez, Hague would immediately become a pretty interesting sleeper in NL-only leagues.

Matt Hague delivered his fourth homer of the spring Friday to give the Pirates their only two runs against the Tigers. He took Doug Fister deep today. With Pedro Alvarez playing his way back to Triple-A, Hague could well make the Pirates as a backup at first and third. He qualifies as a deep sleeper in NL-only leagues.

Matt Hague went 3-for-4 and hit his second spring homer Thursday versus the Twins. NL-only leaguers may want to think about Hague as a late reserve pick. It's doubtful he'll be the Pirates' long-term first baseman, but he'll warrant a look if neither Garrett Jones nor Casey McGehee gets the job done in Pittsburgh this year.

Matt Hague homered and drove in three runs in Monday's win over the Orioles' split-squad team. Hague had an RBI single in the first inning and two-run blast off Kevin Gregg in the third. The 26-year-old batted .309/.372/.457 with 12 homers, 75 RBI and an .829 OPS with Triple-A Indianapolis last season, but he'll need a really strong spring to win a bench job.

Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that first base prospect Matt Hague could platoon at the position with Garrett Jones if Derrek Lee isn't retained. Hague batted .309/.372/.457 with 12 homers, 75 RBI and an .829 OPS over 594 plate appearances this season in a breakout year at Triple-A Indianapolis. The 26-year-old isn't much of a prospect and would be on the short end of the platoon, but he could carve out some NL-only value with enough at-bats. The Pirates also have Jake Fox and Nick Evans as possible platoon mates for Jones.

Pirates purchased the contract of 1B Matt Hague from Triple-A Indianapolis. Hague, 26, earned a spot on the 40-man roster by batting .309/.372/.457 with 12 homers, 75 RBI and an .829 OPS over 594 plate appearances this season at the Triple-A level. He could be a factor at the major league level in 2012 depending upon how they address first base this offseason.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said the team has discussed promoting Matt Hague from Triple-A Indianpolis. Hague is batting .459 with three home runs over his past 10 games and sports a .312/.362/.453 batting line with seven homers and 39 RBI on the season. But, it appears they've decided against the promotion. "It's more on the periphery," Hurdle said. "There's other guys in front of him right now."