3 Pirates position battles to watch in spring training

Spring training is finally underway, and the Pirates have perhaps a more established roster than they've had during the six-year tenure of the current regime. The team returned most of its key players from 2024 while adding a handful of MLB free agents and controllable players via trade.

With that being the case, a good majority of the Opening Day roster is already written in pen. For the most part, the starting lineup, rotation, and bullpen won't feature many surprises. But it wouldn't truly be spring training without a couple position battles, and there are a few roster spots in Pirates camp that are far from decided.

3 roster spots that are up for grabs for the Pirates this spring

Starting first baseman

This position battle, while hopefully only a problem in the short-term, definitely has the most impact. The Pirates' big acquisition of the winter was first baseman Spencer Horwitz, whom the team acquired from Cleveland at the Winter Meetings in exchange for Luis Ortiz and two pitching prospects.

As it turns out, Horwitz has chronic wrist issues, which the Pirates knew about at the time of the trade, and which flared up during a batting practice session in January. Horwitz arrived in Bradenton in a brace, having already undergone surgery. The team gave him a six-to-eight week timeline for return to game action, putting his Opening Day status in serious jeopardy, and certainly relegating first base duties elsewhere throughout the spring.

The only players in the first base conversation who have actually played the position for the Pirates are Jared Triolo and Billy Cook, who each started four games at the position in 2024. Triolo won the NL Gold Glove at the utility position last year but has nowhere near the offensive profile of a first baseman. Cook has the power to handle first, but comes with significant swing-and-miss concerns.

Several players under consideration would be playing out of position at first base. Adam Frazier has one MLB game at first base under his belt, and Nick Yorke had to have his younger brother's first base mitt mailed to him. Jack Suwinski is another name being thrown around. Though he has yet to see any game action at first base this spring, he's been taking grounders on the side, which apparently was his idea.

Some non-roster invitees in the picture are DJ Stewart, who slugged .506 for the Mets in 2023, and Darick Hall, who slugged .522 with the Phillies in 2022. Both of those were smaller samples and represent both players' career peaks. And don't sleep on Matt Gorski, the Pirates' second-round pick in 2019 with three-straight 20-homer seasons in the minors. He got off to the best start, homering three times and driving in 10 runs in his first four spring games.

Fourth outfielder

Barring a spring surprise, the Pirates' starting outfield is set with newcomer Tommy Pham in left field, Oneil Cruz making the full-time switch from shortstop to center field, and Bryan Reynolds shifting over from left to right. Andrew McCutchen is also back in the fold, but he only made five appearances totaling 21 innings in the field in 2024. He likely won't exceed those numbers this season.

In an ideal world, Suwinski earns the fourth outfield spot. He posted a .758 OPS and homered 45 times from 2022-2023 but took a massive step back in 2024, slugging just .324, playing abysmal defense at all three spots, and spending the final two months of the season in the minors.

Joshua Palacios might have the upper hand solely because he's out of options, meaning the club would have to run him through waivers if he doesn't make the team. He's flashed at times, but his overall body of work is uninspiring. Cook, Yorke, and Frazier are more likely to factor in at other positions, but all have ample outfield experience.

Ji Hwan Bae has an outside shot. He's best suited to spell Cruz in center field, but he has yet to show any promise at the plate (.600 career OPS) and his speed is his only real tool. Stewart is a possibility too, as he's almost exclusively played outfield in the bigs, but at six-feet and 230 pounds, he's probably best suited at first base if he hits well enough this spring to make the team.

Backup catcher

Joey Bart has the starting catcher job locked up, and with good reason—of all players who caught at least 60 games in 2024, Bart was the best hitter who doesn't have the last name Contreras. His backup, however, is yet to be determined.

The Bucs' primary catcher in 2024, by a margin of 15.1 innings, was actually Yasmani Grandal. He served as Paul Skenes' primary catcher and is still a free agent. If his rapport with Skenes proves reason enough to bring him back, he's almost surely the backup catcher, but there have been no recent indications that the Pirates plan to add Grandal (or anyone else, for that matter) to their catching room.

The most popular names being thrown around here are Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis. Both players rose up prospect lists and made their MLB debuts in 2023, but each player also is looking to rebound after 2024. Rodriguez underwent Tommy John surgery last winter and only appeared in a handful of minor league games at the end of the season. Davis, after struggling in 2023, was even worse in 2024.

Davis is looking better this spring, but the Pirates probably want him to get extended at-bats in Triple-A with a new stance and approach at the plate. The same probably applies to Rodriguez, as spring training might not be long enough for him to shake off all the rust after an injury of that magnitude.

That leaves Jason Delay, who spent most of last season at Indianapolis but figured prominently in the Pirates' catching group the two prior seasons. He's a career .231/.295/.315 hitter, but has a strong reputation as a game caller and was a 75th-percentile pitch framer in 2023. He boasts nowhere near the ceiling that Rodriguez or Davis do, but he'd be a perfectly serviceable backup catcher if the Pirates decide to go that route.