Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Taking a look at the top position battles for Pirates training camp
When Ben Cherington submitted the 60-man training camp roster to MLB, the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager turned in only 59 names because of the late development of reliever Edgar Santana’s suspension.
In truth, the Pirates actually have 38 players competing for a job on the 30-man Opening Day roster that will be reduced to 28 after two weeks and 26 after a month. With many of the starting positions already set since spring, that leaves the number of openings to just a few spots.
Jameson Taillon will not pitch this season while recovering from Tommy John surgery but will continue his rehabilitation at PNC Park, so he counts against the total. The other 20 players are minor-leaguers who comprise the taxi squad that will train at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona this summer.
Cherington wasn’t aware of any players who wanted to opt out of playing this season, and said he doesn’t foresee any visa issues for players who reside outside the U.S. (MLB is providing a flight from the Dominician Republic on Wednesday).
“I like the energy, focus and excitement that we’re hearing from players about getting back here, getting back to work,” Cherington said. “That’s been evident throughout. I have not sensed a single bit of resistance from any of our guys about wanting to play this year. I think that’s partly a reflection on them; we have a good group of guys who care about the game, want to be out there playing. And I think partly a reflection on the environment that (Pirates manager Derek Shelton) and the staff have started to create in spring training. Guys want to be a part of that.
“I’m excited about that, for sure. We’ve got a lot of young players in this group, both in Pittsburgh and Altoona. We’re really excited to see that group continue to grow, get better. We know that when we’re winning games in Pittsburgh, it’s going to be because that group of players is performing and continuing to find another level of performance.”
Let’s take a look at the top training camp battles for a roster spot.
1. Fifth starter: With right-handers Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams and Mitch Keller and lefty Derek Holland expected to comprise the first four spots, there is one opening in the starting rotation.
Left-hander Steven Brault (4-6, 5.16 ERA in 19 starts in 2019) is the frontrunner, but dealt with shoulder soreness in the spring. Righty Chad Kuhl (5-5, 4.55 in 16 starts in 2018) is coming off Tommy John surgery, so the Pirates are bringing him along slowly.
The Pirates have flirted with the idea of using an opener, where they could use Chris Stratton, Clay Holmes, Geoff Hartlieb or lefty Robbie Erlin. Problem is, the suspension of Santana for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug now leaves the Pirates short a middle reliever.
2. Bullpen: The Pirates will have 21 pitchers in camp, including five who aren’t on the 40-man roster.
Of those five, Holland looks like a lock to be a starter but he also pitched in relief late last season. The others are left-handers Erlin, Miguel Del Pozo and Nik Turley and righty Hector Noesi.
At least three bullpen roles are clear cut: Keone Kela is the closer, and Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez are the setup men. Nick Burdi, Michael Feliz and Stratton are best positioned to return to their relief roles from last season.
The odd man out from the fifth starter battle, Brault or Kuhl, will likely work out of the bullpen. That leaves Erlin, Del Pozo, Noesi and Turley to compete with JT Brubaker, Blake Cederlind, Hartlieb, Holmes and Dovydas Neverauskas.
3. Third base: The inclusion of Ke’Bryan Hayes, their top position prospect, to the PNC Park camp adds intrigue to the competition.
Colin Moran is the incumbent but might be better suited as the left-handed bat for designated hitter because of his production potential (13 home runs, 80 RBIs in 2019) and limited range.
That could open the door for Erik Gonzalez to provide a defensive upgrade, but he slashed .254/.301/.317 with one homer and six RBIs in 53 games last season.
But Hayes has a better bat and a superior glove than Gonzalez, so this is his chance to seize a starting job. The question is whether the Pirates are willing to start the clock on his MLB service time.
4. Designated hitter: The logical candidates are Moran and Jose Osuna, who were two of their best bats off the bench last season.
Gregory Polanco is the starter in right field, unless his surgically repaired left (throwing) shoulder doesn’t respond. All-Star Josh Bell is entrenched at first base — the Pirates sent former first-round pick Will Craig to Altoona — but also could be in the DH mix.
Shelton’s casual mention of Philip Evans in the DH mix was revelatory, as the third baseman who slashed .346/.433/.577 was one of 10 infielders invited to PNC Park.
There is some conjecture that the Pirates should sign a free agent like Yasiel Puig, but the 29-year-old outfielder has never hit more than 28 home runs or 84 RBIs in a season. He hasn’t batted better than .300 since his rookie season, when he hit .319. And he made $9.7 million last season, more than any player on this roster.
The production just doesn’t match the paycheck for the Pirates.
5. Utility infielder: This becomes a matter of whether to keep Cole Tucker on the major-league roster.
The Pirates can certainly get by with a combination of solid but unspectacular veterans Gonzalez and JT Riddle backing up the middle infield and Moran and Osuna on the corners.
But the decision to send Tucker to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he slashed .261/.346/.413 with 15 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 28 RBIs in 77 games last summer, was designed to allow him to be an everyday player at shortstop. But Tucker worked at second base this spring, his first time playing another position, so utility man is a realistic option.
It’s one of the big decisions the Pirates have to make before the season opens.
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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