Suwinski, Shelton and more roster intrigue after victory

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Roughly 90 minutes before a Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox at JetBlue Park on Monday, manager Derek Shelton sat in his team’s dugout and answered questions about what has become one of the more fascinating parts of spring training: the competition that theoretically exists among a few younger Pirates.

Some have produced. Others have not.

While the 7-5 Pirates victory that followed ultimately didn’t matter, the discussion surrounding it did, the ongoing battle for roster spots and playing time involving Jack Suwinski, Canaan Smith-Njigba and Travis Swaggerty, plus another rock fight at second base involving Rodolfo Castro and Ji Hwan Bae.

Before diving deeper into what transpired during a fourth win in five tries for the Pirates (8-13-3), let’s start with Shelton’s pregame comments on Suwinski, who began the day Monday hitting .222 with 16 strikeouts in 13 games.

“Jack’s in a good spot,” Shelton said, answering a question hinting at the chances of Suwinski ultimately making the club. “There’s a lot of competition, but there’s also a lot going on what you did previously.

“We all know spring training stats can be inflated very quickly, especially playing the back half of games when it’s guys that are going to be in the minor leagues. So we have to be aware of what has been done and what he’s done.”

In other words, Suwinski is basically on the opening day roster after hitting 19 home runs in 106 MLB games last year, and it’s really hard to find fault there. Basing roster construction wholly on exhibition games is foolish.

At the same time, the Pirates have talked a lot about competition. Where might that actually exist?

With three hits and two RBIs against the Red Sox, Smith-Njigba had another strong game, upping his average this spring to .324, his OPS to .939. He also swiped one of four bags for the Pirates on a busy day running the bases. Over his past nine, Smith-Njigba is hitting .417 and has seven RBIs.

“My ultimate goal this spring was to showcase my talents, show Shelty that I could be one of his guys and someone he can lean on throughout the season,” Smith- Njigba said. “I’m gonna leave the roster up to [Pirates management], continue playing my game and hope for the best outcome.”

Swaggerty singled and stole a base — which by his recent standards qualifies as a quiet day. Remember, he has the two farthest home runs for a Pirate this spring and has reached base safely in six consecutive games, going 6 for 12 with two doubles, a 439-foot bomb and four RBIs during that stretch.

That neither has done enough to earn a spot feels foolish, no? But it would also be tough to keep both, which brings us back to what happened against Boston.

Suwinski’s sixth-inning triple was impressive, but so was his much-improved outfield defense. It looked much better than some of what we’ve seen at LECOM Park, where the elements can be brutal. Red Sox outfielders struggled to make routine catches. Suwinski, starting in left, did not.

“We’re getting down to the end,” Suwinski said. “It’s getting better.”

At the plate

The batter’s box remains the biggest area worth focusing on with Suwinski. He arrived in spring training touting an adjusted stance — more upright and open. The results have been lacking, but part of Shelton’s pregame comments involved wanting to “respect the player” and what he may have changed in the winter.

Suwinski needed to make adjustments after an up-anddown debut season. He brought them into spring and has been testing them against major league pitchers. That there have been some bumps over 14 games means he or the Pirates should bail? Stop it.

“I’m just trying to hammer out my approach and take it into the season, not worry about the results right now because we have that ability to play with the approach, play with the setup and let that play out,” Suwinski said.

So do that. Take Suwinski north because it’s truly OK if he doesn’t have it all figured out right now. Bet on the player. But Smith-Njigba or Swaggerty must go, too, otherwise the Pirates could be accused of staging a farcical competition.

“No matter what, we have a tight bond,” Smith-Njigba said. “We’re all in this together. We know how hard it is. We just want to continue playing the game. Also, competition is good. Competition is fun. You gotta have competition. It only makes us better.”

Quotable

“If you come in right away and say, ‘That’s not going to work,’ the player’s going to be like, ‘I spent three months doing it. We have to work on it.’ I think we’ve seen that with a couple guys where they came in with some ideas. We’re letting it play out and will adjust off of that.” — Shelton

Up next

JT Brubaker will start at LECOM Park on Tuesday against the Phillies.