Pirates' Phillip Evans will play 'anywhere in the dirt'

Raised as a shortstop, Phillip Evans is willing to play any infield position.

“Anywhere in the dirt is fine with me,” he said.

He’s also willing to spend as much time in the outfield as necessary — he did so in the minors and Monday night in Cleveland — and there was that one game in 2018 in Las Vegas when he strapped on the chest protector and mask and caught an inning for the New York Mets’ Triple-A team.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates over two spring training periods, manager Derek Shelton has taken advantage of Evans’ versatility. With only 54 major league at-bats in two brief appearances with the Mets, the 27-year-old Evans is in line to land a spot on the 30-man roster that will open the season Friday in St. Louis.

“Because of the number of positions he plays, he fits in a lot of places,” Shelton said. “And as you’ve seen, he’s played really well, not only in (spring training) 2.0 but 1.0, at third base. We’ve moved him into the outfield a little bit more during 2.0. He’s done a nice job out there.”

Then, there’s the bat.

Evans hit only 11 home runs in his first five minor league seasons. Still in the minors in 2016, he started putting a charge into the baseball and ended up hitting 50 homers in the past four seasons. With the Iowa Cubs in Triple-A last season, he hit 17, with 61 RBIs and a .283 average.

Nonetheless, he needed another opportunity after last season.

“The Cubs’ (major league) lineup is a tough one to crack,” he said.

The Pirates became a preferred landing spot, especially after he trained in the offseason with fellow southern Californian and former high school opponent Joe Musgrove.

“Yeah, we had a cool little spot in Pacific Beach in San Diego,” Evans said. “We played against each other in high school, committed to San Diego State in the same recruiting class, and a couple other guys — Trevor Williams, Kevin Newman, (Steven) Brault — we’ve all been pretty familiar with each other down the road.

“So, yeah, it was a lot of fun during the quarantine. I mean, we’d rather be out on the field playing, but we made the best of it.

“Musgrove, training with him in the offseason, really showed me that work ethic that he’s got, and I wanted to be a part of it and see where the team could go.”

Evans, who hits from the right side, contributed a home run and double in the Pirates’ 11-7 loss in Cleveland on Monday night, impressing Shelton by reaching the seats against tough Indians right-hander Mike Clevinger (career WHIP, 1.188).

“The fact that he continues to put good swings on the baseball,” Shelton said, “with some heavy velocity hitting the ball like he did off Clevinger, I think his versatility allows us to do a lot of different things with him.”

That could be as a designated hitter, pinch hitter, a bandage on the Pirates’ current shaky situation in right field or a spot starter at third base (although Colin Moran’s hot bat might prevent that early in the season).

“I feel pretty good,” Evans said. “I think my career’s just starting out. Been bouncing around a couple other teams, but I like the fit here a lot.

“They really wanted me here, and I really wanted to be here.”