Pirates finalize Opening Day bench, bullpen with last-minute roster decisions

Opening Day is finally here, and the Pirates are getting ready to face the Marlins in a four-game set. Entering this roadtrip, Pittsburgh had a few roster moves they needed to make to finalize their team for the regular season. Some came as a bit of a shock, but regardless, this team is now ready to go, and the last few spots are official.

Joey Wentz won the last spot in the bullpen to complete Pittsburgh's Opening Day relief corps. It was down to him and Peter Strzelecki for the role, as they were both out of minor-league options and on the 40-man roster. Since Strzelecki did not make it, he was DFA'd, which opened up a spot on the roster for Ryan Borucki.

Wentz won this job with a solid spring, tossing 8.2 innings, allowing two earned runs, nine hits, and three walks. He also struck out 12 batters to solidify himself a spot in the bullpen. Now that he and Borucki have made the active roster, they'll pair with Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza to create a group of four southpaws in the bullpen. That does not happen often, as there are more right-handed hitters in the league to reckon with, so let's hope this group can change that trend and succeed regardless.

Pirates finish off their Opening Day roster by choosing Ji Hwan Bae and Joey Wentz.

The other surprising roster spot winner is Ji Hwan Bae, who put together a very strong spring, but has not found success in the major leagues in his short career. Ultimately, he beat out young candidates like Nick Yorke and Billy Cook, who each could have made an impact to the team, but have minor-league options remaining. Nonetheless, we cannot deny that Bae earned his spot this spring.

This spring, Bae batted .381 with 16 hits. Seven of those were for extra bases, with six doubles and a home run. He did strike out nine times, which evened to a 20% strikeout rate. Bae also added three stolen bases. That is a very solid sample from the spring, which gave him a final chance in Pittsburgh.

It is finally time for real Pirates baseball, and the team is all set to go. These two were the finishing touches to the 2025 Pirates, and let's see if they can carry that momentum over.