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Pittsburgh Pirates: New Projected Opening Day Roster
Due to players testing positive for the coronavirus and getting injured, the projected Opening Day roster for the Pittsburgh Pirates looks differently than it did a week ago
Last week, the Rum Bunter staff took a stab at predicting the Opening Day line up, starting rotation and bullpen for the Pittsburgh Pirates. When this was done, we mentioned that due to the ever evolving coronavirus pandemic, no roster predictions, for any team, could truly be put in pen this season.
Well, in the past week the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen why this was the case. Starting right fielder Gregory Polanco has since tested positive for the coronavirus, and will now miss Opening Day. Closer Keone Kela has been put on the injured list for an undisclosed reason, and projected back up catcher Luke Maile had to have surgery that will cost him 10-12 weeks. In a 60-game season, missing 10-12 weeks will cost Maile the entire season.
It is not just these three players, either. Utility man JT Riddle did not play in Saturday night’s exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians. He also did not work out with the team on Friday. While the Pirates have not said anything one way or the other, Riddle’s status could be up in the air to start the season as well.
With all of that said, let’s get into our new projected Opening Day roster for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The starting rotation
We will start with the easy one. One thing that has not changed since our first predictions for the team’s roster coming out of summer camp is the starting rotation. Luckily, hurry up and go knock on lots of wood, the starting rotation is one area that has not been impacted by injuries, the coronavirus, etc. for the Pittsburgh Pirates since summer camp started.
While injuries have not impacted the rotation in summer camp, the rotation was still been impacted by injuries. Jameson Taillon will miss all of 2019 due to having Tommy John surgery last summer and Chris Archer will miss the season due to undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery earlier this summer. This leaves the team looking for pitchers to top their starting rotation.
Joe Musgrove will enter the season as the top dog for the Pittsburgh Pirates and will start on Opening Day. Trevor Williams will follow in game two, Mitch Keller and Derek Holland will also be in the starting rotation.
As for the final spot in the rotation, Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl will piggyback for the Pirates. In Saturday night’s exhibition game against the Indians, both Brault and Kuhl looked strong pitching a pair of scoreless innings each.
While the rotation could, and likely will, change as the season progresses, it will be Msugrove, Williams, Keller, Holland, and Brault/Kuhl to start the 2020 campaign.
The starting line up
What the starting line up may look like for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night in St. Louis is certainly one that has undergone some changes. When we originally projected the Pirates’ starting line up for Opening Day, that included Gregory Polanco playing in right field. Well, that will not be the case.
We learned on Friday that Polanco has tested positive for COVID-19. Due to this, he will not be ready to go for Opening Day. In addition to Polanco testing positive for COVID-19, so has top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes. Originally, it appeared Hayes may have a shot to unseat Colin Moran as the team’s starting third baseman.
So, what will the line up look like that the Pittsburgh Pirates roll with on Friday night? Well, we’ll go with this:
SS – Kevin Newman
LF – Bryan Reynolds
2B – Adam Frazier
DH – Josh Bell
3B – Colin Moran
1B – Jose Osuna
C – Jacob Stallings
RF – Guillermo Heredia
CF – Jarrod Dyson
While Bell played first base in Saturday night’s exhibition against the Indians while Osuna was the team’s DH, odds are, this will likely switch for regular season games due to Bell’s defensive shortcomings at first base. While nothing is set in stone for right field, the likely outcome will be for Heredia, who was intended to be the team’s fourth outfielder, to start for Polanco. If nothing else, Heredia is a plus defender in right field.
The bullpen
Similar to the team’s Opening Day line up, the bullpen looks different than it did in the original projections. This is due to closer Keone Kela being placed on the 10-day injured list, for an undisclosed reason.
While manager Derek Shelton will have to decide what to do with the hole at closer, he will also need to construct his bullpen. Assuming the bullpen consists of 10 pitchers, at least to start the season when teams can have a 30-man active roster, this is our prediction for what it will look like:
- Kyle Crick
- Nick Burdi
- Michael Feliz
- Richard Rodriguez
- Clay Holmes
- Chris Stratton
- Robbie Erlin
- JT Brubaker
- Dovydas Neverauskas
- Nik Turley
The first eight pitchers appear to be locks, or close to, for the Opening Day bullpen. It’s the final two spots, projected to go to Neverauskas and Turley, that remain up in the air.
Both Neverauskas and Turley are out of minor league options, unlike Geoff Hartlieb who is also in competition for a spot, which plays in their favor. As for Neverauskas, he pitched well in the Grapefruit Leagues (3.00 ERA, two walks, seven strikeouts in 6 innings of work) and he looked strong in Saturday night’s exhibition game.
To touch on Turley, he is a left-handed pitcher. Odds are, Shelton will want a second lefty in the bullpen in addition to Erlin. Especially since Erlin can also be used in a long relief role.
The bench
Stop me if you have heard this before, but the projected bench for the Pittsburgh Pirates is another one that has been impacted by injury. Polanco testing positive for COVID-19 bumps Heredia, who was signed to be the team’s fourth outfielder, to a starting role. Additionally, projected back up catcher Luke Maile underwent hand surgery on Saturday and will miss 10-12 weeks, which in a 60-game season is essentially the entire season.
Maile’s injury opens up a roster spot for veteran John Ryan Murphy who will now back up Stallings. With the Polanco injury, Socrates Brito will likely become the team’s fourth outfielder to start the 2020 season.
Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker remain safe bets to make the team as utility players. Especially with Tucker starting to take reps in the outfield in addition to the middle infield. This gives the team a bench of Murphy, Brito, Gonzalez, and Tucker. So, what about the final spot?
Well, that final spot may hinge on health. JT Riddle has not worked out with his teammates since Thursday. If he is healthy, the INF/OF will be the final bench player for the Pittsburgh Pirates. If he is not, that creates an opportunity for another player.
Next. Forgotten Pirates: Jason Jaramillo. dark
The player best positioned to take advantage of this opportunity could be Phillip Evans. The right-handed hitting Evans has garnered praise from Shelton going back to spring training, and he can play the corner infield and outfield spots.