Chavez, 35, hit .259 with one homer and 10 RBIs for Pittsburgh and has spent parts of 10 seasons in the majors.
Chavez's departure means that the backup catching job will belong to either Robinzon Diaz or Jason Jaramillo.
Ian Snell will pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic this spring, that nation's team announced on Tuesday.
Snell, 27, is coming off a season in which he went 7-12 with a 5.42 ERA. He is the first from the Pirates formally chosen for the 16-nation tournament that takes place March 5-23 in venues around the world, and his appearance will be his first in international play. A full Puerto Rican roster will not be announced until February, but Snell and catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez were early choices.
Snell was born in Delaware but has Puerto Rican ancestry on his father's side.
The Pirates signed six players to minor league contracts, none with an invitation to the major league portion of spring training:
Right-handed starter Sean Smith, 25, went 6-8 with a 5.57 ERA for the Class AAA affiliates of Cleveland and Colorado last season. He had 87 strikeouts and 59 walks in 20 starts.
Right-handed reliever Lincoln Holdzkom, 26, had a 5.33 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 33 walks in 36 appearances for Boston's Class AAA affiliate.
Outfielder Jonel Pacheco, 26, was re-signed after batting .288 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs for the Pirates' Class AA affiliate in Altoona.
Catcher/first baseman Zach Booker, 23, batted .227 for Cleveland's low Class A affiliate.
Left-handed reliever Edwin Walker, 25, had a 1.79 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 33 walks in 35 appearances in the independent Frontier League.
Right-handed reliever Eduardo Pena, 29, has not played in North America since 2002.