The Pirates optioned Callihan to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Callihan had settled into the strong side of a platoon at multiple positions shortly after being called up from Indianapolis on May 28, but he was benched against a righty (Brandon Pfaadt) in Tuesday's 8-7 loss to Arizona and will now find himself back in the minors after a prolonged dry spell at the plate. After opening his time in Pittsburgh by getting on base at a .447 clip and providing five extra-base hits and a stolen base through his first 13 games, Callihan slashed just .156/.191/.266 with one home run, no steals and a 42 percent strikeout rate over his subsequent 27 contests. The Pirates will likely lean on a committee of Marcell Ozuna, Jhostynxon Garcia and Jared Triolo to replace Callihan's spot in the lineup versus right-handed pitching.