3 surprising trouble spots for Pirates that have already emerged

After another slow start in Pittsburgh, it is easy to point out what has gone wrong thus far. For the Pirates, it's a combination of many things on the roster, as multiple groups are not exactly working out as Ben Cherington intended.

These three trouble spots in particular have been the main issues on the roster in Pittsburgh, and need a quick change for the team to find a groove.

The Pirates desperately need these three trouble spots on the roster to turn things around.

High-Leverage Relievers

The Pirates' bullpen overall has not been awful, but the guys put into the key high leverage roles struggled immediately. Heck, the two guys put into the most prominent roles are not even on the active roster right now, which tells a lot about how poor their performance really was.

First is David Bednar, the Pirates' two-time All-Star closer who has been in a funk since the start of 2024. In his three appearances, Bednar accounted for just one inning pitched. His ERA is at 27.00, with a WHIP of 6.00 and an 0-2 record. That led to his demotion to Triple-A, and a new closer was swiftly tested out.

Colin Holderman was the other high-leverage arm who's already been exiled; he was just placed on the 15-day injured list. He also had his struggles in 2024, and they similarly carried over. In 4.2 innings, Holderman has posted an ERA of 9.64 with a WHIP of 2.14 and two blown saves.

These two struggling actively cost the Pirates early wins, and forced them to throw out other options in those roles from further down the depth chart. Adjusting from a lower-leverage job to a closer gig is not easy, leaving management with a tough task.

Second Base Group

The Pirates' second base group overall has been weak and lacking offense. Nick Gonzales getting hurt put the Pirates into this position, yet it could have been handled a completely different way by calling up Nick Yorke. He is, of course, now also injured, but at the time of Gonzales' injury, he was perfectly healthy.

Adam Frazier has gotten the majority of starts at second base, and that solution has not been ideal. His batting average sits at .158 (6-for-38) with four RBI. For a guy that lacks power and patience, his average being low is a major problem. One positive is his defense; he's posted an OAA and FRV of one, and both marks rank within the top 15% of the league.

Enmanuel Valdez was the guy brought up following the Gonzales injury, and has only seen one game at second base. His time has come at first, but he is still a part of this second base group. He has picked up three hits with the Pirates, including a double and a triple.

This group right now is hurting the Pirates, as the offense is already weak, and the Frazier/Valdez combo is not helping. When Gonzales returns, things will look much better, but for the time being, this area is not great for Pittsburgh.

Outfield Depth

Aside from Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, the outfield has been weak, and fans all knew this during the offseason. Despite what would have been the perfect opportunity to spend on a guy like Tyler O'Neill, they added Tommy Pham instead. Pham obviously has time to turn it around, but the addition has been negative thus far, and he's not the only one struggling.

Pham has had a few clutch moments with the Pirates, including a walk-off, a game-tying single in extras, and a big outfield assist. Then you look at his season numbers and forget about all of that, as he has started batting .125 (5-for-40) with three RBI and a strikeout rate of 31.3%. Hopefully he has a quick turnaround, or the signing will be just like Michael A. Taylor a year ago.

Jack Suwinski and Alexander Canario are two others in the outfield struggling. Suwinski got off to a toolsy start, and then began striking out a ton (43.3%). When he makes contact with the ball, it will be solid contact, but putting it in play is an issue. That same problem is happening to Canario, too, who's whiffing at a 37% clip. Suwinski's batting average sits at .120 and Canario's is at .071.

There is not a lot of depth in the outfield to work with to help fix this, so giving at bats to them to figure it out is essentially all Pittsburgh can do. It may not be surprising that Pittsburgh's outfield group has looked weak, but Pham's performance has failed to meet even moderate expectations, and Reynolds' issues have thrown an annoying wrench into the process. They need a spark in the lineup to push them back to .500, and hopefully that comes from one of these struggling bats in the outfield.