Pittsburgh Pirates: New Projected Opening Day Roster

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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 18: Guillermo Heredia #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates stands at attention for the National Anthem before the exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park on July 18, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

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.

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