3 Pirates non-roster invitees making a serious case for the Opening Day roster

Teams always bring in their fair share of non-roster invitees as the winter wraps up. Sometimes, those players can unexpectedly make their team’s Opening Day roster. Most teams have enough competition for the 25th or 26th roster spot to let an NRI who performed well in spring open the year with the Major League club. Other times, injuries create an opening for a NRI to make the big league roster. The Pittsburgh Pirates currently have 27 NRIs with them in camp.

Some are top prospects, like Konnor Griffin, Termarr Johnson, and Bubba Chandler. Others are depth guys who will be sent to Triple-A. But there are some that have a real chance of heading north with the team after spring training is over. These three overlooked names have done well in camp and are making a serious case for a Major League roster spot to start the year.

3 Pirates non-roster invitees who are making serious noise at spring training

3. DJ Stewart

The Pirates signed DJ Stewart to a minor-league contract this past offseason.With Spencer Horwitz recovering from wrist surgery, Stewart is taking full advantage and is gunning for an Opening Day roster spot. He already has nine hits in his first 31 plate appearances, five of which have gone for extra bases (four doubles and a home run), along with two walks. Still, Stewart has more to prove, as his 2024 campaign with the Mets was rough.

He only had 194 plate appearances, as he was optioned and recalled from Triple-A multiple times throughout the season. All told, he batted just .177/.325/.297, with a .290 wOBA and 88 wRC+. He walked in 16% of his trips to the plate, but struck out about a quarter of the time with a 24.7% K%. On the plus side, Stewart had some solid underlying numbers, including a .326 xwOBA, 8.1% barrel percentage, and 89.7 MPH exit velocity, all of which were slightly above league average.

While Stewart struggled in 2024, he’s been about a league-average batter throughout his MLB career. Stewart has a .212/.328/.401 with a .320 wOBA and 102 wRC+. He’s shown some power, with 42 home runs across 1,001 plate appearances, as well as a .189 isolated slugging percentage, and a 9.8% barrel percentage. He is prone to striking out, with a 27.1% K%, but has drawn his fair share of free passes with a 12.8% BB%. A left-handed batter, Stewart has typically hit right-handed pitchers well throughout his time in the big leagues, sporting a .761 OPS vs RHP.

The Pirates likely aren’t expecting Stewart to be any sort of Silver Slugger. Even though he produced poorly in 2024, Stewart’s career numbers aren’t bad, and he had some solid expected numbers with decent batted ball data last season. He’s done nothing but mash the ball in spring training as well. Stewart looks like a completely competent first base option for the Pirates for the first few weeks of the season until Horwitz is back in action.