Neal Huntington knew the value of a strong bullpen in an era when starting pitchers are typically pulled after six innings.

The former Pittsburgh Pirates general manager made what appeared to be good trades for closer Felipe Vazquez and setup man Keone Kela, hoping they could nail down tight games in the late innings. Steal a victory or two, and maybe the Pirates could stay in contention longer than anyone expected.

But how was Huntington to know Vazquez would get arrested last year on child pornography and solicitation charges? Kela stepped into the void. But who knew he would test positive for covid-19 and miss the entirety of spring training 2.0?

The result is the Pirates need to dip into their third level of relief pitchers to find someone — in this case multiple players — to pitch in those tense ninth-inning situations. It’s an important role considering Vazquez saved 38% of the Pirates’ victories (86 of 226) over the past three seasons.

Manager Derek Shelton said he doesn’t want to designate anyone for the closer or any other role at the moment.

“I think we’ll play who fits best for the situation,” he said. “The relievers are the guys who are probably going to be the farthest behind, not just here but in the industry because of the (short) three-week (training) period.

“I would have liked our bullpen guys to get on the mound a few more times.”

The majority of the manpower in the bullpen won’t look much different than what former manager Clint Hurdle used last season. Seven spots might be reserved for Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes, Chris Stratton, Dovydas Neverauskas and Kela, when he returns from covid-19 quarantine. That leaves room for six starters and two or three more relievers, depending on whether Shelton decides to keep 15 or 16 pitchers. That list of relief pitchers includes Robbie Erlin, JT Brubaker and Nik Turley.

Erlin, 29, is the veteran of the group, having spent six seasons with the San Diego Padres.

Shelton said Erlin’s time with pitching coach Oscar Marin has paid dividends. He indicated Erlin will be part of the initial staff.

“I think from the pitching plan we put in place when we got him and he, Oscar and (bullpen coach Justin Meccage) have been working on, he’s continuing to get better with it,” Shelton said. “Right at the end of (spring training) 1.0, we started to see the effects of the plan that we were putting into place, the adjustments that we were doing.

“At the beginning of 2.0, there was a little bit step back, and I think we had to have some conversations about what we wanted him to do and how we wanted him to do it. In the last few outings, he’s really executed that.

“Really happy with that and happy he’s going to part of the club.”

Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)