The Pittsburgh Pirates have arrived in the closing days of training camp, with exhibition games on Monday and Wednesday against the Cleveland Indians before making final decisions on the Opening Day 30-man roster.
Most of the decisions were made by them.
The Pirates began training camp at PNC Park with 39 players, after relief pitcher Edgar Santana was suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. With Jameson Taillon out for the season but included in the camp count, they actually had 38 players vying for 30 spots.
Then pitcher Héctor Noesi chose not to participate, and relievers Miguel Del Pozo and Geoff Hartlieb were sent to the alternative training camp in Altoona. That left the Pirates with 35 players.
But closer Keone Kela, reliever Blake Cederlind and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes have yet to practice. Cederlind was confirmed positive for covid-19. The reason for Kela’s absence is not disclosed, but he was placed on the 10-day disabled list. And Pirates manager Derek Shelton announced Sunday that Hayes, the team’s top-ranked prospect, has also tested positive for covid-19.
That reduced the number of available players to 33.
When Shelton revealed on Friday that right fielder Gregory Polanco tested positive for covid-19, the Pirates dropped to 32. Substitute wide receiver Luke Maile was later lost during the season due to surgery on his right index finger, causing him to was 31.
So it’s all about making some moves to add players to the 40-man roster and if Shelton prefers to keep more pitchers than position players or even draw him on 15 of each.
And you’re not ready to reveal that.
Then we will play the guessing game.
I’ve been waiting a while to manage a game with that horizon as the backdrop.
Man, this place is beautiful.
We will really make it here in a few days and I can’t wait! #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/xQIjl3G6R6
– Derek Shelton (@derekshelton) July 19, 2020
1. Who remains: The Pirates have Jacob Stallings and John Ryan Murphy on catcher, Josh Bell at first base, Adam Frazier at second base, Kevin Newman at shortstop and Colin Moran at third base, with Phillip Evans, Erik Gonzalez, José Osuna, JT Riddle and Cole Tucker capable of multiple positions. The garden is made up of Bryan Reynolds, Jarrod Dyson and Guillermo Heredia and Sócrates Brito.
The initial rotation will feature Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams, Mitch Keller, Derek Holland, with Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl pitching from the start.
The bullpen would consist of Nick Burdi, Kyle Crick, Robbie Erlin, Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes, Dovydas Neverauskas, Richard Rodriguez, Chris Stratton and Nik Turley.
And then there is JT Brubaker.
Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Pirates pitcher JT Brubaker works on his pickoff play during practice Monday, July 13, 2020 at PNC Park.
2. Call a taxi: The Pirates have few receivers and outfielders, so Brubaker could be a strange man given that he’s being extended as a starter.
Then again, it could come out of the bullpen. That’s what Brubaker will do in Cleveland on Monday night, along with Feliz, Crick, Rodríguez, Stratton and Erlin.
Where things can get interesting is seeing what the Pirates do with their squad of taxis.
If they have a third receiver, it will probably be Andrew Susac. If they carry extra position players, it could come down to one of three called up for Saturday’s game at PNC Park: first baseman Will Craig, shortstop Oneil Cruz and outfielder Jason Martin. It may depend on which position has the greatest need.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington ruled out signing a free agent or trading … but that was before Maile’s injury.
Nothing like @MeLlamoTrevor in the summer camp headphones. pic.twitter.com/XD1gSb3GDk
– Pirates (@Pirates) July 19, 2020
3. Spilled beans: Shelton was set to announce that Trevor Williams will launch Monday in Cleveland and then launch the second game of the opening weekend series on Saturday afternoon in St. Louis.
One problem: Williams already let it go.
Williams shared that news with Greg Brown on Saturday night about AT&T SportsNet coverage of the show opener.
“It’s funny when I spoke to Trevor and told him that he was going to lead with the fact that he was going to launch Game 2, and he said, ‘Yeah, I think I could have said that already,'” Shelton said.
“That was actually going to be my cool ‘News of the Day.’ But when I told him (Sunday) that I was going to tell him that (to the media), he said, ‘OK, I think that may already be out.’ “
Pirates simulating the 10th inning, with Guillermo Heredia at second base, Clay Holmes on the mound and Cole Tucker in center field, with 1B / OF coach Tarrik Brock standing nearby. pic.twitter.com/dAZVCel3KR
– Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) July 19, 2020
4. Look at me: Shelton also shared what we’ve seen in practice at PNC Park, that “there is a good chance” that Tucker will play outfield Monday night against Cleveland.
Over the weekend, the Pirates had the shortstop participate in field drills to make up for Polanco’s absence and shortage on the job. Tucker has worked center and right where he and field coach Tarrik Brock spent time on Sunday.
Shelton said the Pirates will test Tucker in all three places in the outfield, and bench coach Don Kelly is impressed by how quickly Tucker has adapted to play new positions for the first time in his career.
“What an athlete he is. Just watching him move around the yard, he’ll be great out there, ”Kelly said, noting that Tucker showed his versatility by playing second base on Saturday. “There are some really special things you can do, and this will only help you. Just reiterating, like, ‘Shortstop is your position. You won’t lose that. You have to focus on keeping that. But it will help and help the team to be more versatile. I have no doubt that he can play in the garden. ”
Nothing better than a game of tag. pic.twitter.com/ysFpywlx3m
– Pirates (@Pirates) July 19, 2020
5. Summary: Tucker was the only outfielder in the middle when the Pirates put relievers Holmes and Turley on the mound and a runner at second base on Sunday to practice the MLB’s new tenth inning rule that starts additional innings with a runner on scoring position.
“We needed to simulate it,” Shelton said. “It gave our right-handed hitters a chance to work on it. It gave our base runners a small chance to participate. ”
Pirates also practiced tours. In spring training, they used minor leagues. This time, it was with coaches. A sneaky Shelton had the Pirates coming and going before being tagged.
“Once we move to one side, we can’t move to the other side,” Shelton said. “I found out the hard way.”
Kevin Gorman is a writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Kevin by email at [email protected] or by Twitter.
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