North Shore Nine

How soon is too soon to discuss opening day rosters? And do Spring Training statistics matter? The answer to the first is “never,” and to the second is “no.” 15 games into Spring Training with a 6-9 record, we are just over halfway through, with only 14 games left on the slate after the game against Boston on 3/11. So, what—if anything—has changed since we last looked at the Pirates roster? As with last week, each position will be looked at and the players within will be discussed as we move closer to Opening Day and the finalized 26-man roster.

Catcher(2): Yasmani Grandal, it was reported, has been dealing with plantar fasciitis and has not played since 2/27/24. For those unaware, plantar fasciitis is a heel issue that, like any other injury, has a different level of severity. The severity of the issue has not been reported; however, given the fact that he has not played in two weeks, it is at least mild if not worse. There are a multitude of treatments for this type of injury; however, it is unsure how those may or may not affect baseball activities. Derek Shelton has stated he expects Grandal to return to games soon, but until we see Grandal play, and with two weeks left in spring training, we might have to assume he could end up on the IL to start the season. Davis continues to show off his offensive prowess and leads the team in home runs and RBIs. At this point, Davis is your opening day starter, hands down. Neither Jason Delay nor Ali Sanchez have stood out at all in their ST playing time so far. Abrahan Gutierrez had a nice camp, but he was recently sent to the minor league camp.

Prediction: Davis and Delay are your opening day catchers, due to Grandal being on the IL.

First Base(1): Rowdy Tellez has not, to date, had a good spring. He is not hitting well, and some of his defensive liabilities are showing at times. Connor Joe also has not been very good this spring. Both are projected to make the OD roster and their poor performances do not change that. Jake Lamb has played very well this spring; however, there is no expectation he will supplant either Joe or Tellez as the season nears. Recently, San Fransisco waived J.D. Davis who has been a consistent hitter at 1B over the last few seasons. He comes with a $6.9 million contract, something easily swallowable; however, we are talking about the Pirates, so there is no chance the Pirates claim him, though he would make them better. Additionally, it is unlikely they move on from Tellez due to some bad ST performances. If he clears and enters FA, though, it wouldn’t be the worst move to reach out and see if there is interest.

Prediction: Tellez is still your starter.

Second Base(1): There has been a lot of movement in this battle over the last week. The first thing to note is Nick Gonzales has not been in a game since 3/6. It is looking increasingly likely he will be in AAA to start the season. There is also a good chance there is an injury involved here, especially considering how we have been finding out a week or more after the fact for the other player injuries this spring. Liover Peguero has continued to impress with both his ST AB and his work in the field. Jared Triolo has been equally impressive with his work at the plate and in the field. As we reach the midway point, it seems likely Peguero will get the nod at 2B, with Triolo playing the super infielder role.  Termarr Johnson remains at the MLB camp and continues to impress on both sides of the ball, minus that one defensive blunder. But there is no chance he won’t go back to the minor league camp in the next week. Tsung-Che Cheng was also impressive at times this ST, but he has been reassigned already. However, it will be interesting to watch him this year to see what continual improvements he can make.

Prediction: Peguero is your starter, with a healthy amount of time going to Triolo at 2B, as well.  

Third Base (2): Ke’Bryan Hayes, that is your starter. He continues to look like an All-Star-level player this spring. The only question that remains for Hayes is how high his talents can go this season.

Prediction: Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jared Triolo. No change from last week.

Shortstop(1): Oneil Cruz, much like Hayes is the man for this position. Cruz began to fire off Cruz missiles over the weekend and holds 3 of the Top 5 spots for hardest-hit baseballs this spring. Furthermore, he was listed as one of the MLB’s Top 100 players by ESPN. Fans continue to fantasize over the season that Cruz could have this year, and it’s looking more and more every day like it might not be just fantasy.

Prediction: Cruz will be the primary SS this year, with the other guys filling in as needed.

Left Field(1): Bryan Reynolds is the starting left fielder. Bryan has continued to struggle at the plate this spring. But there has been nothing concerning to point out, therefore nothing to care about.

Prediction: Reynolds is your starter.

Center Field(1): Jack Suwinski remains your starting CF. He continues to struggle in his Spring at-bats, but like Reynolds, there doesn’t appear to be a larger issue at play. The encouraging item is that in the last week only struck out twice in twelve at-bats while walking once. So while he isn’t hitting he also isn’t striking out, so take the small win.

Prediction: Suwinski is your starting CF.

Right Field(2): The battle for RF remains intense and without a clear winner. It is assumed that it will be a platoon between Edward Olivares and Connor Joe. Neither has played well this spring, but both are all but guaranteed, for good or ill, spots on the OD roster. Gilberto Celestino and Canaan Smith-Njigba both continue to see a lot of playing time. Joshua Palacios returned from injury and will continue to get a look as well. A lot has been said about Palacios and the re-invention process he undertook this offseason to improve his game, hopefully, that will start to translate in field performance as he comes back from injury. Billy McKinney also remains impressive so far this Spring. For now, Olivares and Joe are the RF pairing, but there will be another OF on the roster if you read on.

Prediction: Both Joe and Olivares will be on the roster.

Outfield(1): The magical 4^th Outfield position. Billy McKinney continues to hit and field well, with a very impressive 7 walks and only 2 strikeouts so far this Spring. Celestino also continues his hot Spring. He does have the impassive walks of McKinney or the home run total of CSN but he is playing well. CSN is tied for the lead of Outfielder home runs this spring; however, they also make up 75% of his hits. That will not continue, and he is also tied for the most strikeouts among the Outfielders. This “Ride or Die” approach likely will not translate well in the majors. Palacios needs more at-bats before he can be judged properly. Ji Hwan Bae, like Nick Gonzales, has not played in almost a week. So there could be an injury there as well, or maybe much like Gonzo he is preparing for his bus ride to the Minor League camp in the near future. The battle at the moment comes down to the minor league signing NRI, the international money trade, and the twice waived. CSN has had experience with the Pirates at the big league level but was mostly unimpressive in those opportunities. McKinney played in 48 games last season for the New York Yankees and wasn’t very impressive with the bat but showed a good glove and the ability to play all three outfield positions. Celestino played in 122 games with Minnesota two years ago playing OK offensively as well as in the outfield.

Prediction: It is hard to look past the nice Spring that Celestino has accomplished. It is also hard to look past the history CSN brings. Or the fact Palacios has the “Narrative” going for him. However, as it stands right now, McKinney has best earned the 4^th and final outfielder position.

Designated Hitter(1): Andrew “Pittsburgher of the Year” McCutchen remains your option. He finally made his ST debut and has played in a pair of games. Proving there was nothing to worry about he went 1-2 in his first game and crushed a home run in the second game. He looks good and should be ready to chase some milestones this season.

Prediction: Cutch.

Rotation(5): The top 3 remain the same as they have been in Mitch Keller, Martin Perez, and Marco Gonzalez. Mitch has been working well and is one folks should not be concerned about regardless of ST stats. Perez has been impressive so far, including getting good comments from opposing hitters for those who caught the Tellez Mic(ed) inning. Gonzales has not been impressive, but he is coming back from a major injury. Furthermore, in the last outing, he threw 19 of his 23 pitches for strikes, over 3 and 1/3 IP. A vast improvement over his 1 and 2/3 previous outing where he threw 25 strikes over 41 pitches. Another start or two will give us a better idea of where Gonzales stands. Luis Ortiz has looked good this spring and leads the team in Strikeouts. While he needs to cut down on his walks it is safe to say he has, at least for now, etched himself into the 4^th spot of the rotation.  Roansy Contreras has seen his velocity return, which is great news for the Pirates; however, he has not been able to harness the consistency needed with that speed. He has walked four batters in his outings which isn’t bad; however, he has only struck out one batter. He has some time left this spring to continue to turn things around, but as it stands now he is outside-looking-in for a rotation spot. Bailey Falter continues to well, Falter. He hasn’t been bad, per se, but he has not been very effective either. He will need to really turn it around to make the OD roster for the Pirates, which would be a bullpen spot at best at this point. Quinn Priester has shown some flashes in his outings, but in the most recent clearly tired and became less effective as the game wore on. Either he is dealing with an injury, he needs more time in the minors or it is time to consider him in a relief role. The bet here would be he goes to the minor league camp soon to continue to work on being a starter and that he begins the year in AAA. None of Josh Fleming, Brent Honeywell, Chase Anderson, Wily Peralta, or Michael Plassmeyer have pitched well enough to be considered for a rotation spot. It was reported last week that Jared Jones is in serious consideration for a rotation spot moving into Opening Day. He has done nothing since then or before then to prove he doesn’t belong as the OD 5th starter. He has given up only four hits over his four appearances this spring, while he has walked too many batters there is an impressive upside with him, IE what we see on the radar gun. Jones at the moment at least, appears in the driver’s seat for the last spot in the rotation. A wild card here is the signing of Eric Lauer to a minor league deal, chances are he doesn’t make the team but it will depend on how many looks he gets over the next two weeks, and how those looks turn out.

Prediction: Keller, Perez, Gonzales, Ortiz, Jones.

Bullpen(8): David Bednar, Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, Jose Hernandez, and Ryan Borucki will make the bullpen. Bednar has been injured but has resumed some throwing so there is not much to worry about there, yet. The rest have pitched quite well, minus the one Holderman blow-up. These six still look to stand up well against most other bullpen in the league. The NRI guys have played well for the most part, but none have shown enough consistent good pitching to outshine the guys the Pirates are already familiar with. At this point, it comes down to the out-of-option Falter and Contreras, and Hunter Stratton. Stratton has looked very good this spring, limiting hits and walks and racking up strikeouts. If he continues to pitch like he has been, he could easily force himself into the bullpen.

Prediction: Bednar, Chapman, Holderman, Mlodzinski, Hernandez, Borucki, Falter, Contreras. The potential starters without options get the last two rotation spots to give length out of the pen as needed.

Expected Cuts: A new addition this week, expected cuts. These are the players who have not shown enough in their opportunities or are ready to get their minor league on.
Catchers: Carter Bins
Infielders: Francisco Acuna, Jack Brannigan, Seth Beer, Aaron Shackelford, Josiah Sightler, Malcom Nunez, Mike Jarvis, Shawn Ross
Outfielders: Matt Gorski, Jase Bowen, Joe Perez, Eddy Rodgriguez, Lonnie White Jr, Rodolfo Nolasco
Pitchers: Colin Selby, Kyle Nichols, Dauri Moreta (IL), Braxton Ashcraft, Brent Honeywell Jr. Ryder Ryan

There are currently 55 players left in camp, these cuts would bring the number in camp down to 34.

Some of these predictions are set in stone and will not change unless an unexpected injury occurs; however, stop back every week as camp dwindles and players start to show more, or less, what they can do.