TAMPA, Fla. -- The Pirates expect to tie up several loose ends today and, in turn, complete their opening-day roster.

To start, they will cut Sean Burnett, multiple sources confirmed last night.

That is expected to happen today, along with the formal naming of Franquelis Osoria, Phil Dumatrait and Rule 5 draft pick Evan Meek to fill out the bullpen and, thus, the full roster for Monday in Atlanta. Injured outfielder Chris Duffy still is in the fold, too, but he will be assigned to minor-league camp soon.

Burnett was not with the team yesterday for a second consecutive day. He was across the state in Wellington, Fla., where his fiancee, Jessica, gave birth to the couple's first child, Sebastien Drew.

The boy's middle name was in honor of Pirates pitching coach Jeff Andrews.

The team might have made its final cuts already, except that it wanted to wait until Burnett returned. He could be back today but, even if he is not, general manager Neal Huntington has made clear his intent to have the roster done the day before the spring finale, which is tomorrow.

Burnett provided perhaps the most compelling storyline of the spring: The Pirates' first-round draft pick in 2000, whose career was derailed by elbow and shoulder surgery after a brief stint in Pittsburgh in 2004, was the team's best reliever, with one run and three hits allowed in 10 innings. That included a streak of seven hitless appearances to finish up.

Management's aim is to get a longer look at Meek, to see if he is worth keeping for the full season, as the Rule 5 process stipulates must happen to retain the player's rights for the long term. In the interim, Burnett can get more experience as a reliever -- he had been a starter all his career before this spring -- with Class AAA Indianapolis.

Burnett will not have to clear waivers to be demoted because he was removed from the 40-man roster two months ago.

On another front, Freddy Sanchez took a small stride with his troublesome right shoulder.

He played second base in a minor-league game in Bradenton, Fla., his first time in the field since his most recent game last Friday. He played four innings of defense for both teams but, as fate would have it, only needed to make one throw he described as "light." He fielded two balls in all.

Any pain?

"It went OK," Sanchez said.

He will try the same routine today in Bradenton, provided the shoulder does not flare up in the interim.

The Pirates' tentative plan is to have Sanchez on the opening-day roster, even if he is confined to pinch-hitting. But, as manager John Russell reiterated yesterday, that is no lock.

"We want to see how he's doing," Russell said.

It probably will take a significant setback for the Pirates to put Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list. Still, they will prepare for the possibility, Russell said, by keeping him out of the final two Grapefruit League games and using him only in minor-league games. That way, if the disabled list becomes necessary, his time can be backdated to his most recent major-league game last Friday, and he could come off as soon as April 5.

This much is set regarding the 2008 Pirates: Their opening-day, major-league payroll will be $49,377,000, an increase of more than $11 million above the opening-day figure of $38,537,833 from last year, but still projecting to be the fourth-lowest in Major League Baseball.

By the time 2007 was finished, the actual amount the Pirates spent was $51,360,907, largely because of the addition of pitcher Matt Morris' $9.5 million salary July 31.

The current payroll includes $47,789,500 committed to player salaries and bonuses, plus $390,000 committed to minor-league pitcher Yoslan Herrera and option buyouts of pitcher Tony Armas ($500,000) and infielder Cesar Izturis ($300,000).

The Pirates have made two buyouts this spring -- pitchers Byung-Hyun Kim ($300,000) and Juan Perez ($97,500) -- but those will count toward next year's payroll, as per MLB's accounting procedures.

The buyout of Perez, whose elbow was structurally damaged in a game March 7, was disclosed yesterday.

When the Pirates unconditionally released him as part of a flurry of activity Wednesday morning, they were required to buy out a quarter of his $390,000 major-league salary by MLB's 2 p.m. deadline for such releases. If they had not and Perez had gone on the disabled list, he would have been paid at the full amount while recovering.

Perez might need reconstructive elbow surgery and, if he does, the Pirates also are required to pay for that, too. The investment they are making in Perez, between the buyout and any surgery, is one reason they hope to re-sign him to a minor-league contract at some point.