3 Pirates players on the 40-man roster who are fighting for a final roster spot

Most of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Opening Day roster is likely already decided. The starting lineup, rotation, and most of the bullpen seems to be set in place.

However, neither the final bench spots, nor the final spot available in the bullpen, have been fully settled upon. The Pirates have options on the 40-man roster right now that could take one of these final roster spots, and so far in spring training, these three have done well enough to get some consideration.

3 Pirates players at the fringes of 40-man roster fighting for Opening Day roster consideration

3. Ji Hwan Bae

Ji Hwan Bae was once one of the Pirates' higher-ranked prospects in the system. Heading into 2023, MLB Pipeline ranked the utility man as the Pirates' 13th-best prospect. Like many Pirates players, Bae has performed exceptionally well at Triple-A, but has yet to find his footing in the Major Leagues. In 489 plate appearances, Bae has only batted .231/.396/.304 with a 65 wRC+. Bae has hit just two home runs with a .073 isolated slugging percentage and has struck out 24.9% of the time.

There haven't been very many positives to speak of regarding Bae's Major League performance. His 7.8% walk rate isn't horrible, but not above average, and he's swiped 33 bags with +4.1 baserunning runs. Bae has been above the 90th percentile of sprint speed throughout his career. He also has +2 outs above average in the outfield, and gets good jumps on fly balls, but grades out poorly in terms of route running.

With Nick Yorke and now Adam Frazier back in the fold, Bae headed into spring training having to fight for a final roster spot, but he has done well thus far. Bae has a dozen plate appearances and already has six hits, which include a double and a home run. He has struck out just twice, with a 21.7% whiff percentage, and has drawn a walk.

Bae could be a player who excels under Matt Hague's tutelage. He would be a player who would greatly benefit from a high-contact approach with a disciplined plate approach. Even reaching base at a league-average rate would make him a valuable member of the Pirates' bench, given his speed. The biggest thing working against Bae may be the fact he still has two options remaining, so the Pirates do not have to put him on the 26-man roster or risk losing him on waivers.