Roster is incomplete despite moves
BRADENTON, Fla. — Monday began with the Pirates optioning or reassigning four players. It ended with two more reassigned and general manager Ben Cherington speaking on a Zoom call, addressing his team’s opening day roster.
Which, of course, he could not fully address, because the Pirates were still working through some details, a perfect coda to a cacophony of stuff.
In between, the Pirates announced plans for an alternate training site, to be held in three spots around Pittsburgh; named a starting shortstop, leadoff hitter and backup catcher; kept a local product who has been flat-out dominant this spring; and told Chad Kuhl he would start on opening day.
Plus the Pirates played their next-to-last game of the spring, so not much of anything happened.
“We’re excited,” Cherington said, “to get into the season.”
No wonder. There are elementary school fire drills less complicated than what the Pirates pulled off over the span of eight or so hours, but it does mostly make sense when you put the pieces together.
Kevin Newman is your shortstop, a no -brainer after he hit .645 this spring. Second baseman Adam Frazier will lead off on Thursday in Chicago and most times against right-handed pitching. Michael Perez won the backup catcher job.
The early moves included optioning Geoff Hartlieb to Class AAA Indianapolis and reassigning Wilmer Difo, Brian Goodwin and Steven Wright to minor league camp. Chasen Shreve and Chase De Jong joined them after a 5-3 loss.
What’s all that mean? Let’s take a look:
• The Pirates are going to carry 14 pitchers and 12 position players (eight starters and a four-man bench).
• Steven Brault (left lat strain) and Cody Ponce (forearm) won’t be ready for the season. Ponce has been throwing. Brault is shut down for roughly three more weeks.
• Cherington said the Pirates expect Kuhl, Tyler Anderson, Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker and Trevor Cahill to make starts this season, though they won’t be the only ones.
• Hartlieb was squeezed out of the bullpen race for a few reasons, in part because of the dominant performance of that local product — Mars graduate David Bednar, who did not allow a run and struck out 18 in 8.2 innings of spring work — and also because Hartlieb has options remaining.
• Difo and Goodwin came down to roster space. Neither had an OPS above .688 and thus did not do enough to boot someone from the 40-man roster. They’ll remain in the minors and report to the alternate site, their clubhouse at Heinz Field and those players practicing at PNC Park or Pitt’s Cost Field and playing games against teams in Ohio and Kentucky.
So, now what? The last remaining competition for a starting spot is center field, where manager Derek Shelton said he has not yet decided who will start at Wrigley — Anthony Alford or Dustin Fowler. The bet here is Alford, for his athleticism and diving catches this spring, as well as his .500 slugging percentage and .842 OPS in 32 spring training at-bats.
That’s one shoe that still must drop. Another involves pitching.
Reassigning Shreve and De Jong takes the Pirates down to 16 pitchers on the active roster — which is really after Brault and Ponce.
A name to remember is Clay Holmes, who’s here on a minor league deal and has given the Pirates 10 scoreless appearances this spring (9.2 innings). The big right-hander looks like a different pitcher.
Seemingly safe in the bullpen are Richard Rodriguez, Chris Stratton, Kyle Crick, Michael Feliz, Sam Howard ( only lefty), Bednar and Duane Underwood Jr. (out of options), which gives us seven of nine.
No. 8 is probably Luis Oviedo, a Rule 5 pick the Pirates must keep or risk losing. They also could work out a trade with his original team, the Cleveland Indians. That could be one of the remaining tasks for Cherington and his staff, although it sounds like they plan on having Oviedo — a starter in the minors — with the big club.
“We are comfortable [having Oviedo in the bullpen],” Cherington said. “He’s shown good stuff.”
The final spot would seem to come down to Holmes or Wil Crowe, one of two pitchers acquired in the Josh Bell trade. Crowe had a 0.77 ERA in 11.2 spring innings and made a very good impression.
He also didn’t pitch Monday and, because of COVID-19 protocols, had no reason to be at LECOM Park. The Pirates could be waiting to tell Crowe in-person.
It’s also interesting that Holmes, who pitched against the Twins, was not reassigned after the game along with Shreve and De Jong. Maybe Holmes made it? Or maybe the Pirates didn’t want to send him out and tip their hand with Crowe?
Either way, this is merely a starting point, not anything etched in stone. Things can and will change throughout the season, with the Pirates promoting guys from the alternate site or Class AAA, depending on possible injuries or performance issues.
“We wanted to work to identify not only the 14 pitchers that would be us on opening day but really 20-25 guys we know we can count on this year,” Cherington said.