Pittsburgh Pirates Set to Return to Grapefruit League Action After a Day Off

After their first day off from Grapefruit League action on Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates are set to return to the field with split squad action on Wednesday

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates had their first off day of the Grapefruit League season. Now, the team is ready to return to the field on Wednesday afternoon. In fact, they’re so ready to return to the field that they will be doing it on two different fields.

The Pirates will partake in split squad action on Wednesday afternoon. At 1:05 at LECOM Park in Bradenton the Bucs will host the Atlanta Braves. Meanwhile, in Clearwater, another group of Pirates will do battle with the Philadelphia Phillies, also at 1:05.

At home in Bradenton Trevor Williams will make his third start of the spring. After quietly being one of the best starting pitchers in the National League in 2017 and 2018, Williams had an abysmal 2019 season. His struggles have continued into Grapefruit League play, and he will be looking to get back on track on Wednesday.

Right-handed reliever Michael Feliz, Chris Stratton, and Richard Rodriguez are all scheduled to pitch after Williams. So are left-handed pitchers Miguel Del Pozo and Nik Turley. Stratton is out of minor league options and was likely close to a lock to make the Opening Day bullpen, but the recent injuries to Clay Holmes and Steven Brault should lock up his bullpen spot. The same can be said about Feliz and Rodriguez.

While the Brault injury could open the door for Del Pozo or Turley due to them being lefties, it remains unlikely that either cracks the Opening Day roster.

On the road in Clearwater non-roster invitee Hector Noesi will make the start for the Priates. A minor league signing this off-season, this will be the second start of the spring for Noesi. It looks like the Pirates will be stretching Noesi out to start this season. Look for Noesi to join JT Brubaker and James Marvel among others in the starting rotation for Triple-A Indianapolis at the beginning of the season.

Non-roster invitees Williams Jerez, Montana DuRapau, Luis Escobar, and Blake Weiman, as well as righty Dovydas Neverauskas are all scheduled to follow Noesi. None of the six pitchers scheduled to pitch for the Pirates in this game are projected to be on the Opening Day roster. This includes Neverauskas who is out of minor league options.

The game against the Braves will be televised on AT&T SportsNet in Pittsburgh, while the game against the Phillies will be on KDKA radio. You can also watch the game against the Braves and listen to either game on MLB.tv.