North Shore Nine

In our final Starbucs before Opening Day, we dove deep into the fallout from Jared Jones’ elbow injury and the ripple effects across the Pirates’ rotation. With Jones potentially out long-term, Thomas Harrington or Carmen Mlodzinski could fill the void, though we agree Harrington’s the stronger choice.

We also tackled bullpen makeup, discussing whether the team will carry four lefties—Caleb Ferguson, Ryan Borucki, Tim Mayza, and Joey Wentz—and what that means for Mlodzinski and Kyle Nicolas.

On the roster front, Endy Rodriguez’s emergence at first base complicates the final bench spot battle between Ji Hwan Bae and DJ Stewart. With Nick Yorke and Billy Cook optioned, it’s clear some tough decisions are ahead.

Finally, we couldn’t ignore Paul Skenes’ leadership and powerful quote about “raising the bar” in Pittsburgh—this is his team now.

Tune in Wednesday for our season preview and over/unders, then get ready: baseball is here.