CAMP BATTLES
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pirates writer Bill Brink examines the three positions that figure to see the most competiton over the next six weeks.
Manager Clint Hurdle is fond of the phrase, “Spring training games don’t count, but they matter.” Though teams take much more into account — option and 40-man status, service time, past performance — when setting their opening-day roster, spring training gives them the latest data points on the 60-plus players competing for a roster spot or playing time.
The trade of Andrew McCutchen created the first significant outfield void, aside from Starling Marte’s steroid suspension, since 2014. The trade of Gerrit Cole once again has the Pirates deciding on a fifth starter. And both trades added relievers to what could be a talented bullpen.
Left field
Marte will return to center field, a spot he assumed at the beginning of 2017 before his suspension but did not regain afterward, general manager Neal Huntington said Tuesday. Polanco, Huntington said, can play left or right field.
Adam Frazier, Jordan Luplow and Sean Rodriguez could all earn playing time in left, in addition to Daniel Nava, who signed a minor league contract. Frazier started 44 games in left last season and played solid defense. Luplow started 13 games in right field, seven in left, but that has as much to do with Polanco’s injuries as anything. Luplow played mostly left field in the minors. Luplow rose quickly last season from Class AA Altoona to the majors.
“If we ended up with Jordan on our major league team, it’s because we thought that was the best move for him and for us,” Huntington said. “If there’s another scenario that plays out, it wouldn’t be negative for him to go back and get more time in triple-A.”
Nava, 34, hit well (.301/.393/.421) in 80 games last year with the Philadelphia Phillies, but made four trips to the disabled list because of two different injuries. Frazier bats left-handed, Luplow and Rodriguez righty, and Nava is a switch-hitter, so some mixing and matching could be in order.
Fifth starter
For the second spring in a row, the Pirates must complete their rotation. Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova have spots. Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams almost certainly do as well; Huntington said it was “hard to walk away” from what the latter pair did in 2017.
Righty Joe Musgrove, who came from the Houston Astros in the Cole trade, will have a shot. The 25-yearold had a 6.12 ERA and .882 opponent on-base plus slugging percentage in 15 starts last year, but pitched much better in relief, with a 1.44 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 311⁄ innings. 3
“We believe he can be a really good major league starting pitcher,” Huntington said.
Steven Brault and Tyler Glasnow will also compete for the spot. Glasnow won the job out of spring training last year but was sent to the minors after 12 bad starts. Brault had a great year in Class AAA Indianapolis and posted a 4.50 ERA in four starts in the majors.
The rest of the bullpen
Closer Felipe Rivero and setup men Daniel Hudson and George Kontos have spots. The rest is up for grabs. Kyle Crick, Michael Feliz and Josh Smoker joined via trade, Jordan Milbrath was a Rule 5 pick and Dovydas Neverauskas, Edgar Santana, A.J. Schugel and Jack Leathersich were all in the organization.
Smoker and Leathersich are lefties, and the Pirates must carry Milbrath on the roster or, if he clears waivers, offer him back to the Cleveland Indians. Crick and Feliz both throw hard and can work at the top of the strike zone, but both walked more than four batters per nine innings last season. Neverauskas and Santana, hard-throwing right-handers, both made impressive debuts for the Pirates in 2017.
“There’s different [arm] slots, there’s different looks, there’s different secondary [pitches],” Huntington said.
The Pirates also have several non-roster invitee pitchers, and whoever doesn’t get the fifth starter spot could end up in relief.