"Everyone that is going to be in the dugout tonight take one step forward... whoa, not so fast Jose."
Well, I doubt it went like that but Jose Tabata has been outrighted to AAA Indianapolis where he will at least get to play everyday if he clears waivers. He is still owed about $11M after all his buyouts so it makes sense to think he may not get claimed considering the Pirates have already gotten the cheapest years of his contract. However, he can still be useful so unlike Wandy Rodriguez it makes sense to keep him around in case you need him later. You are paying him either way.
It appears the Pirates officially went with what they believe to be the best roster and not their normal route. Jose did put up a 1.3 WAR last year so you never know when a team might bite (kind of like Luis Suarez for you soccer fans out there).
EDIT: As was pointed out Tabata has cleared waivers. So it looks like the Pirates put him on waivers in advance knowing this was coming. You see that happen a lot around and after the trade deadlines when teams are trying to dump not so favorable contracts.