BRADENTON, Fla. - Reliever Jesse Chavez has won the final spot on the Pittsburgh Pirates' opening day roster.

The right-handed Chavez locked up the job Friday when righty Evan Meek was optioned to Triple-A.

Meek, 25, had better stats than Chavez, but has not pitched in two weeks. He was sidelined by a sore shoulder, then by flu-like symptoms and bronchitis.

"Ultimately, logic won out over emotion," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Evan threw the ball very well good velocity, good stuff, good command and he'd gotten good results.

"But he hasn't gone back-to-back (outings) yet and hadn't gone multiple innings yet. He hasn't really faced (a tough) lineup yet. Jesse has."

Chavez, 25, had an 11.45 ERA in 13 appearances this spring. In 11 innings, he allowed 18 hits and seven walks and struck out 15.

Chavez pitched in 15 games for the Pirates last season, and went 0-1 with a 6.60 ERA.

Meek pitched in seven games this spring and had a 3.48 ERA. He was a Rule 5 pick last year.

"This is brutal on my end," Meek said. "Ever since they sent me down last year, I've been doing what I did this spring at Double-A, Triple-A, Mexican (Winter) League. In my opinion, I was one of the best guys here at the start of spring, but that doesn't matter."