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With less than two weeks to go until Opening Day the Pittsburgh Pirates will be facing tough decisions with their Opening Day roster
Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates is just eight days away. In the next eight days the Pittsburgh Pirates will need to trim their roster down to the 26 players they will take north with them to Chicago for the start of the season.
Every season there are players who through either a strong or poor spring put teams in a position where they are facing a tough roster decision. The Pittsburgh Pirates are certainly in that position as Grapefruit League play carries on and they will be facing multiple tough roster decisions before next Thursday.
Wil Crowe
This offseason the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Wil Crowe as part of the Josh Bell trade. Crowe entered the spring looking to compete for a spot on the Pirate Opening Day roster. So far this spring, Crowe has pitched lights out giving the Pirates a tough decision to make.
Crowe has allowed just 1 earned run in 9.2 innings pitched in four Grapefruit League games. He has allowed just seven hits, walked three batters and struck out seven.
Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton have expressed interest in wanting to keep Crowe stretched out to start. However, there may not be a spot for in the Opening Day starting rotation. Chad Kuhl, Mitch Keller, Tyler Anderson and Trevor Cahill all appear to have a spot in the rotation locked down. The same goes for Steven Brault if he is healthy, and, if he is not, JT Brubaker will likely get the last rotation spot. Even if Brault is healhty, Brubaker may still get a spot with the Pirates rolling with a six man starting rotation.
Crowe could find himself as a long-man in the Pirate bullpen, but the best way to keep him stretched out would be for him to work as a starting pitcher at the alternate training site before joining the rotation at Triple-A Indianapolis when the minor league season begins. Regardless of how it shakes out, Crowe is giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a tough decision to make.