According to a tweet by Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Pirates have unconditionally released infielder Akinori Iwamura.

In a separate move, catcher Erik Kratz has cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Both Iwamura and Kratz were designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier this week. Iwamura, 30, was hitting .182/.292/.267 in 54 games for the Pirates this season. Kratz, 30, was 4-for-34 in nine games for the Pirates in 2010.