The Pittsburgh Pirates don’t know if or when they will play this summer, let alone what types of rule changes baseball will implement for a season shortened by the coronavirus crisis.

MLB already plans to implement two major changes: Starting and relief pitchers must face a three-batter minimum; and rosters will expand to 26 players, with a maximum of 13 pitchers.

“It’s still going to be baseball,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Even though there are rule changes coming into the year this year, there were going to be different things that happened that we were going to have to adapt and adjust.”

With the possibility that MLB could go from an American League and National League format to divisions divided by region, it could follow the lead of Korea Baseball Organization by using the designated hitter exclusively in an 144-game season.

If so, Shelton will have to decide whether or not to designate a DH.

“If that is the case where we have it — unless something I don’t know that we’re definitely doing it — I think it’s something that we’ll probably float different guys through there,” Shelton said. “A lot of that will depend on what our health is, who our personnel is and what our situation is.

“To say specifically what we’re going to do with it, I don’t see that we would David Ortiz it or Travis Hafner it where one guy is doing it all the time. I don’t see that.”

Ortiz and Hafner both thrived in that role for the majority of their major-league careers. Where Ortiz slashed .289/.383/.559 in 2,027 games and had 485 of his 541 career home runs and 1,568 of his 1,768 RBIs as a DH, Hafner slashed .275/.378/.584 with 200 of his 21 career homers and 689 of his 731 RBIs as a DH.

The Pirates have a handful of candidates:

Josh Bell: Many believe DH could be a perfect role for Bell, who produces power at the plate but has struggled at first base. Bell is coming off a 37-home run, 116-RBI season in 2019 but saw his batting average dip from .302 in 88 games in the first half to .233 in 55 games in the second half. The switch-hitting Bell has slashed .325/.417/.750 in 10 career games as a DH, including seven last season, and has four homers and 11 RBIs.

Gregory Polanco: This could be a safe role for the right fielder to allow his left (throwing) shoulder time to heal. After suffering a season-ending injury that required surgery in September 2018, Polanco played in only 42 games last season. A lefty bat, he was 1 for 4 in his only DH appearance last season but has slashed .276/.344/.345 with four RBIs in seven career games as a DH.

Jose Osuna: Osuna most likely would be Bell’s defensive replacement at first base, which might be why Osuna has no appearances as a DH. The Pirates need only to look at his performance as a pinch hitter, where the right-handed hitting Osuna batted .345 and slugged .966 with five homers and 10 RBIs in 30 games last season.

Colin Moran: The Pirates are down on limited defensive range at third base but the left-handed Moran hit 13 homers and had 80 RBIs, which ranked behind only Bell and Starling Marte (82) last season. Moran also shined in a pinch-hit role, slashing .300/.391/.750 with three homers and nine RBIs in 23 games.

Guillermo Heredia: Signed to be possible replacement for Marte in center, the Pirates could instead start Jarrod Dyson there and use Heredia in the DH rotation to give one of the aforementioned players a rest. Heredia, a righty, has limited experience in that role, batting only .222 with a .300 on-base percentage in four career games as a DH.

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