Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Pirates are almost back to Opening Day lineup, so what's next?

Derek Shelton had to be delighted the Pittsburgh Pirates finally had Adam Frazier, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Colin Moran back at the top of their batting order and Chad Kuhl on the mound.

Just like Opening Day at Wrigley Field.

Since then, Hayes missed two months with a left hand/wrist injury, Kuhl was shelved for five weeks with right shoulder discomfort and Moran was out for almost a month with a left groin injury.

The patchwork Pirates used a variety of lineups that only Heinz could appreciate to get through the first 57 games. Erik Gonzalez played first base. Rodolfo Castro played third. Phillip Evans played left. Ben Gamel played center. Hunter Owen played right. Wilmer Difo pitched.

So Shelton finally had the lineup he planned to use this season, even if Gonzalez started at shortstop instead of Kevin Newman, and Michael Perez gave Jacob Stallings a rest behind the plate Sunday in the series finale against the Miami Marlins at PNC Park.

“Now we’re getting closer to what we expected our lineup to be when we broke spring training,” Shelton said. “We lost ‘Key’ right after the first game of the season. Colin has been out (since May 8). Now we’re getting closer to what we saw at Wrigley on Opening Day.”

The Pirates won that game but are 23-35 (.397) for the second-worst record in the National League (Arizona, 20-41) and fourth worst in the majors. For a team projected to lose 100-plus games, the Pirates are on pace to go 64-98 despite going two months without their best player (Hayes), 25 games without their cleanup hitter (Moran) and having several pitchers miss starts because of various ailments.

The Pirates have 43 games to play before the July 30 trade deadline, which should give them a greater idea of which players to keep and which ones to deal.

Now what?

1. Infield: With Hayes and Moran back at the corners and the steady Stallings behind the plate, the Pirates are finally intact and should be much improved defensively.

Hayes slashed .389/.421/.722 with a double, triple, home run and three RBIs in his first four games back, so his return to the two-hole is a major boost to the batting order.

Even though Gonzalez showed a good glove in making 31 starts at third, Hayes is an elite defender who made a fantastic sliding stop to his left to save two runs in his return Thursday.

No one would confuse Moran with an elite defender, but he should be an upgrade over the cast of characters the Pirates used at first base in his absence.

Evans was injured, Todd Frazier was designated for assignment and Will Craig made one of the biggest blunders in baseball history by chasing Javier Baez back to home plate. Gonzalez was fine at first, but it forced the Pirates to play Difo and Ildemaro Vargas at third.

Newman has been error-free at shortstop, two-time Gold Glove finalist Adam Frazier has five errors at second base. Shelton has insisted Frazier is locked into that job, but now that he has the freedom to use Gonzalez at short, it could allow Newman to slide over to second base and use Frazier more frequently in left field, where he has been an occasional late-inning replacement.

2. Outfield: Reynolds has been a revelation in center field since moving there permanently April 22, after the Pirates threw in the towel on Anthony Alford and Dustin Fowler.

They appear to be willing to live with Gregory Polanco’s below-the-line production (.208/.276/.352, five homers, 17 RBIs) in right field, which makes left field the only position in flux.

The impending return of Evans could change things. The Pirates extended his rehab assignment to allow Evans to play multiple positions because he will be used in a utility role. His ability to play the corner outfield spots makes somebody expendable.

Do the Pirates keep Ben Gamel or Ka’ai Tom?

Tom is batting .190 with one double, two homers and 10 RBIs in 24 games. The Pirates like his patience at the plate and ability to get on base (.359) by walk (12) or getting hit by pitches (five), but he’s played only left field and was pulled in a double switch Friday after misplaying a double down the line by Sandy Leon.

Gamel is hitting .217 with five doubles and a triple but has no homers and only three RBIs since joining the Pirates on May 10. But he can play all three outfield positions, which increases his value because he can back up Reynolds in center field.

That Tom is a Rule 5 player complicates things. If the Pirates let him go, they risk losing him. So they have to decide whether he’s part of their future or was simply a stopgap.

The ability to play Evans or Frazier in left makes Tom look like the odd man out.

3. Starting rotation: Only lefty Tyler Anderson and righty Mitch Keller have made all 11 scheduled starts, though Keller lasted only two innings Friday night before leaving with “heat illness.”

Shelton said Sunday the Pirates placed Keller on the covid-IL, though it’s a possibility he could make his scheduled start Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

JT Brubaker has 10 starts after missing one while on bereavement leave for the death of his grandmother and is set to start Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Although Kuhl (0-3, 5.61) doesn’t have the results, he is showing improved fastball command, which is leading to fewer walks.

The two veteran free agents are showing signs of wear. After winning three of his first six starts, Anderson has a 7.97 ERA and .317 batting average against in his last four. Trevor Cahill (1-5, 6.81 ERA) is close to returning from the 10-day IL.

The big question is whether to stick with Wil Crowe (0-4, 7.26 in seven starts) or Chase De Jong (5.40 ERA in two starts), especially with Miguel Yajure shut down in the minors after general manager Ben Cherington said he was “pitching with some sensation.”

“Obviously, a really important young pitcher for us and we want to make sure that we’re really on top of this,” Cherington said. “He’s feeling better, symptoms are getting better. … We’ll make extra sure he’s in a good spot before he starts throwing again.”

Cherington, however, also hinted Sunday knuckleballer Steven Wright is a possible option. Wright is 2-1 with a 2.21 ERA in 20 1/3 innings over five games (three starts) at Triple-A Indianapolis.

4. Bullpen: This has been a strength for the Pirates, as lefty setup man Sam Howard and righties David Bednar, Clay Holmes and Chris Stratton have been very reliable, Kyle Crick is showing a nasty slide,r and closer Richard Rodriguez was dominant early.

Since the start of the season, Crowe was shifted to the starting rotation, and Michael Feliz was designated for assignment. The Pirates have added lefties Chasen Shreve and Austin Davis, who made his debut with a clean seventh Sunday.

Cahill threw three innings of live batting practice Sunday, and the Pirates are keeping their options open as to whether they use him as a starter or move him into long relief.

Cherington said on his weekly radio show that the Pirates want Cahill to be available to be a starter, but Shelton was noncommittal about Cahill’s role.

“One of the reasons of continuing his live BPs is to get him stretched out,” Shelton said, “but we haven’t determined if he’ll come back in what role.”

5. Bench: This has been the biggest problem for the Pirates. The players they planned to have in backup roles became starters because of injuries, which forced them to turn to the waiver wire for backups.

Gonzalez goes back to being the top backup at multiple positions, though he likely will be used most at shortstop and third base. But he has to be better at the plate after hitting .183 since April 23.

“He’s a versatile option across the infield,” Shelton said. “He will start to bounce around a little bit more now.”

When Evans returns, the Pirates have decisions to make. They could part ways with Gamel or Tom in the outfield. They could decide Difo is a luxury, even though he’s hitting .296 (8 for 27) as a pinch hitter.

If there’s an area that could use an upgrade, it’s catcher.

Michael Perez is batting .136 with two doubles, three homers and seven RBIs in 22 games. Known for his defense, he has thrown out only one runner in 12 attempts. The Pirates have several to select from at Triple-A Indianapolis: Jason Delay, Joe Hudson, Andrew Susac and Christian Bethancourt.

Keep an eye on Bethancourt, 29, a former top-100 prospect with the Atlanta Braves who is slashing .308/.393/.462 with six doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs in 22 games at Indianapolis.