Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training News & Notes: February 19

The first Pittsburgh Pirates full squad workout of Spring Training 2018 took place on Monday

Spring Training is now in full swing. On Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates held their first full squad workout of the spring. Every player invited to camp by the Pirates has now reported to Bradenton as well.

With the first day of full squad workouts now in the books, here are some news and notes on the Pirates from Pirate City on Monday.

Last week, manager Clint Hurdle expressed his desire for Joe Musgrove to take the final spot in the Pirate rotation and run with it. Well, Musgrove’s spring is off to a bit of a bumpy start as right-shoulder discomfort caused him to miss throwing a live bullpen session on Sunday.

However, Musgrove does not seem concerned about his shoulder. “I probably could have stuck it out and gutted through yesterday, but it’s Feb. 19, so what’s the point in doing that? This was nothing more than a little precautionary rest,” he told reporters on Monday.

During the team’s first workout on the fields of Pirate City on Monday, players were positioned as expected. The defensive alignment during pop up drills was as followed:

C – Francisco Cervelli
1B – Josh Bell
2B – Josh Harrison
SS – Jordy Mercer
3B – Colin Moran
LF – Adam Frazier
CF – Starling Marte
RF – Gregory Polanco

This group would appear to be the Opening Day eight, barring any injuries, trades, or free agent signings between now and when the Bucs start the regular season against the Tigers on March 29.

Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings also worked at catcher, Daniel Nava and Eric Weiss at first base, Kevin Kramer and Max Moroff at second base, Cole Tucker and Sean Rodriguez at shortstop, David Freese and Jose Osuna at third base, and Jordan Luplow, Austin Meadows, and Bryan Reynolds in the outfield.

As the spring carries on it will be intriguing to see how Jose Osuna can handle third base defensively. If he looks comfortable there, it will help to increase his odds of making the Opening Day roster. Other than the fifth rotation spot and the bullpen, the only position battle this spring would appear to be the final bench spot and Osuna will be one of the players trying to win this battle.

Speaking of the bullpen, general manager Neal Huntington once again said on Monday that Steven Brault and Tyler Glasnow are Opening Day bullpen options if they are not in the starting rotation. Personally, I believe Musgrove will get the final rotation spot while both Brault and Glasnow open the season in the bullpen.

Finally, owner, and Pittsburgh public enemy number one, Bob Nutting held his yearly spring meeting with the team on Monday. If players such as David Freese or Josh Harrison have issues with the organization as they have stated this offseason, this was their opportunity to discuss that with the chairman of the board. Rather or not anything was said is unknown.

Next: Corey Dickerson would be a low risk addition

That will do it for today. Stay tuned here at Rum Bunter for news and notes from Pirate City and Pittsburgh Pirates’ Spring Training.