BRADENTON, Fla. - First-base prospect Brad Eldred made a final impression on the Pittsburgh Pirates before being sent to minor league camp on Sunday.

In his last at-bat with the Pirates, he hit a three-run homer Saturday in a 15-12 win in a split-squad game against Cincinnati Reds.

"It was nice to end it on a home run," Eldred said. "I was hoping to get a few more, though."

Eldred, the Pirates' minor-league player of the year, was one of 13 players trimmed off the spring training roster Sunday.

Eldred was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis along with right-hander Jeff Miller, left-hander Cory Stewart, catcher Ronny Paulino and outfielder Nate McLouth.

Meanwhile, pitcher Matt Peterson and outfielder Rajai Davis were optioned to Class AA Altoona and pitchers Bryan Bullington, Chris Enochs, Brian Reith, Kirk Bullinger and Ron Chiavacci and outfielder Rich Thompson were reassigned to the Pirates minor-league camp. The moves leave the Pirates with 48 active players in camp.

Last season, Eldred batted .301 with 38 home runs and 137 RBIs between Class A Lynchburg and Altoona. He had the most RBIs of any minor-leaguer in baseball and ranked sixth in home runs, earning him a spot on the Pirates' 40-man roster for the first time.

"He's extremely intriguing in regards to his power," Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said. "We saw that (Saturday) with that home run."

Until Saturday, Eldred had looked overmatched, going 2-for-16 with two RBIs in eight games.

"It was a pretty good chance to see what I could do against big league pitching," Eldred said. "I can really take a lot out of the at-bats I got here."

Eldred has only half a season of Class AA experience, but he could start the season at Indianapolis, the Pirates' highest farm club.

Eldred has shown he can adjust to play at higher levels.

After his midseason promotion from Lynchburg last year, Eldred struck out eight times in his first 10 at-bats at Altoona, and his slump extended to 2-for-23 with 13 strikeouts before he broke out.

He made a slight adjustment to his batting stance and went 3-for-4 with three doubles in a game against Akron. In August, he batted .340 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs.

"We were taking him out of the lineup," former Altoona hitting coach John Wehner said. "After that, he was our lineup."

Notes:

Outfielder Jason Bay, who has not played since bruising a bone in his left wrist Tuesday, is expected to start swinging the bat Monday. It has not been determined when Bay will return to the lineup. ... Left-hander Oliver Perez and right-hander Kip Wells are scheduled to pitch against minor-leaguers Tuesday, the lone scheduled off day of the spring for the Pirates.