Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Predicting the Pirates’ 30-man roster and taxi squad
If you listened to Derek Shelton’s weekly appearance on 93.7 FM, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager dropped a bit of a bombshell when he discussed potential designated hitters.
Oh, Shelton has warned us before that he has no plans to designate one player as DH, as much as that might be the perfect place to protect the recovering left (throwing) arm for right fielder Gregory Polanco or to hide the defensive deficiencies of All-Star slugger Josh Bell at first base or Colin Moran at third base.
As Shelton rolled off the names of those three, he added Jose Osuna, JT Riddle and … Philip Evans? That left Pirates fans scratching their heads, as many are unfamiliar with the 27-year-old third baseman who was a non-roster invitee to spring training.
For those wondering, Evans has appeared in 34 major-league games, all with the New York Mets (19 in 2017 and 15 in ’18). He showed some pop for the Iowa Cubs, Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate, slashing .283/.371/.470 with 30 doubles, 17 homers and 61 RBIs.
Perhaps it was Shelton subtly sending a message to give incentive. The question is whether it’s to Evans or the team’s top position prospect, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.
That’s a potentially prominent storyline, as MLB business opens at noon and 60-man rosters must be set by 4 p.m. Sunday: With expanded rosters, how will the Pirates handle their most promising prospects?
Let’s project the 30-man roster, based on what we saw in spring training:
1. Starting pitchers: With Jameson Taillon (Tommy John) and Chris Archer (thoracic outlet syndrome) out for the season while recovering from surgery, the Pirates don’t have many choices.
Shelton said the first four spots in the starting rotation are pretty much decided, with Joe Musgrove (1), Trevor Williams (2), Mitch Keller (3) and Derek Holland (4).
The fifth spot could come down to Steven Brault (5) or Chad Kuhl (6), with the possibility of using someone such as Chris Stratton (7) or another reliever as an opener.
2. The bullpen: Keone Kela (8) has been anointed the closer, with Kyle Crick (9) and Richard Rodriguez (10) in high-leverage setup roles. That leaves the rest of the bullpen to be determined.
The frontrunners would be Kuhl and Stratton — but we’ve already counted them — followed by Michael Feliz (11), Nick Burdi (12) and Clay Holmes (13).
With rosters starting at 30 for the opener, then being reduced to 28 after two weeks and 26 after a month, the Pirates could elect to carry more pitchers early to reduce the wear and tear of playing 60 games in 66 days. But how many more? My guess is three: Robbie Erlin (14), Geoff Hartlieb (15) and Sam Howard (16).
3. The infield: The question is whether the Pirates will carry two catchers or three, given the workload. Jacob Stallings (17) is the starter, with Luke Maile (18) the backup.
Bell (19) is entrenched at first base (unless he’s the DH), Adam Frazier (20) at second base and Kevin Newman (21) at shortstop. The battle is at third, where Moran (22) is the returning starter, but Erik Gonzalez (23) could be a defensive upgrade. Osuna (24) can play a corner infield or outfield spot, and Riddle (25) is a veteran option in the middle infield or center field.
4. The outfield: With Bryan Reynolds (26) in left, Jarrod Dyson (27) in center and Polanco (28) in right, the starting outfield is set.
Guillermo Heredia (29) was signed to a $1 million free-agent deal, so he’s likely the fourth outfielder or possibly the replacement in right if Polanco is used frequently as the DH.
Given Osuna, Riddle and even Gonzalez have experience in the outfield, the Pirates could elect to stick with four. That leaves them the option of keeping an extra pitcher or infielder, perhaps one of their top prospects.
5. The final spot: This decision will be telling, as the Pirates believe a shortened season could be beneficial to their playoff hopes. After all, they were 29-31 after 60 games last season.
If they carry a third catcher, it will be John Ryan Murphy.
If they carry another pitcher, it could be RHP Dovydas Neverauskas and his 10.61 ERA in 2019 or a veteran such as 33-year-old right-hander Hector Noesi, who allowed four runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk in two spring training starts.
But if the Pirates want to protect their future, they have to give strong consideration to keeping former first-rounders Hayes and shortstop Cole Tucker on the roster this season.
Some believe Hayes should start at third, where he is a three-time Gold Glove winner in the minors and already considered their best defensive infielder. With no minors, having him spend a season on the taxi squad could be counterproductive to his development.
That’s the biggest decision of training camp for Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and Shelton, one they should weigh heavily before deciding on the final roster.
Hayes and Tucker should make the 30, even if it’s at the expense of one of the position players projected to make the roster.
Extra innings
Taxi squad: The Pirates will use Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Double-A Altoona Curve, as their alternate training facility for the 30-man taxi squad.
MLB teams are expected to carry some of their top prospects, along with their most major-league ready minor leaguers.
Catchers Murphy (1) and Andrew Susac (2), first baseman Will Craig (3), shorstop Oneil Cruz (4), Evans (5) and outfielders Socrates Brito (6), Jason Martin (7) and Jared Oliva (8) should be included in the position players.
JT Brubaker (9), Montana DuRapau (10), James Marvel (11), Cody Ponce (12) and Edgar Santana (13) are likely to be on the pitching staff, and Blake Cederlind (14) showed he has the makings of a future closer this spring. Other candidates include Cody Bolton (15), Miguel DelPozo (16), Williams Jerez (17), Yacksel Rios (18), Nik Turley (19), Brandon Waddell (20).
That would leave 10 spots for prospects, though it’s possible they could keep more.
You would imagine the Pirates would want to take a longer look at MLB.com top-10 prospects, especially first-rounders in right-hander Quinn Priester (21), outfielders Sammy Siani (22) and Travis Swaggerty (23), as well as the two players acquired in the Starling Marte trade: right-hander Brennan Malone (24) and shortstop Liover Peguero (25). And it only makes sense to add 2020 first-rounder Nick Gonzales (26) to that mix.
That would leave five spots for top-20 prospects in the lower levels of the minors, perhaps middle infielder Ji-Hwan Bae (27), outfielders Calvin Mitchell (28) and Lolo Sanchez (29) and first baseman Mason Martin (30).
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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