"The Pirates answered any lingering questions that may have remained about Zach Duke's future with the franchise by leaving the left-hander off the team's 40-man roster Friday.

Infielders Andy LaRoche and Delwyn Young also were left off the roster, which had to be set by midnight.

With Duke, the Pirates' 20th-round selection in 2001, general manager Neal Huntington said it was a business decision after failing to both negotiate a new contract and trade the oft-maligned pitcher.

"We weren't able to reach common ground with Zach, and it came to a decision, do we continue to try to work something out or make the move now," Huntington said. "We felt it was best to make the move now. Zach is confident in his ability to bounce back, and we have no doubt he'll be a solid pitcher for another team next year. It was a tough decision, but we decided it was time to move forward."

Duke was 8-15 last year with a 5.73 ERA and struggled so badly down the stretch that there was talk of removing him from the rotation, although he finished his season with a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros in his last start. He also was entering his third and final year of arbitration.

Young had 45 hits in 191 bats and played 110 games with the Pirates in 2010, while LaRoche, who watched his role change from starting third baseman to utility-man when Pedro Alvarez came up, had 51 hits and 16 RBI in 247 at-bats in 102 games."