Pirates News: Ryan Borucki, DJ Stewart, Endy Rodriguez

Emma Lingan

Sep 21, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Ryan Borucki (43) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

With just three days remaining before they open the 2025 season on the road against the Miami Marlins, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Opening Day roster is beginning to take shape.

Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported Monday morning that lefty reliever Ryan Borucki is expected to be on the Pirates' Opening Day roster, while outfielder and first baseman DJ Stewart is not. Both players attended Pirates spring training as non-roster invitees and would therefore need to be added to the 40-man roster in order to break camp with the club.

Stewart remained in the mix to get reps at first base while Spencer Horwitz begins the season on the injured list after undergoing wrist surgery, but it appears that he will not be earning a spot on the Pirates' major league roster. The minor league contract that he signed with the Pirates this offseason contains an opt-out clause that he will likely choose to exercise, allowing him to re-enter free agency and pursue options elsewhere.

Pirates News: Endy Rodríguez expected to see time at first base

Ultimately, Stewart became expendable once the Pirates optioned catcher Henry Davis to Triple-A Indianapolis. That guaranteed the backup catcher role to Endy Rodríguez, who is also in the mix to get reps at first base.

Despite previous indications that Rodríguez would not be considered an option at first base — the Pirates wanted him to get back up to speed at his primary position of catcher before adding more to his plate after he missed the majority of last season while recovering from elbow surgery — manager Derek Shelton reversed course on the decision.

"We knew we had it in our back pocket, because he's played first, he's played second, he's played left, he has the ability to do that," Shelton said (via Greg Macafee of DK Pittsburgh Sports). "But it wouldn't have been thoughtful of us to throw something else on his plate and then he doesn't make the team. I think we wanted to make sure. It wasn't anything we hid. We wanted to give this the full chance because we view him as a catcher. We view him as a catcher long-term, so now that we have the ability to pivot a little bit, we will do that."

In the meantime, expect to see Rodríguez splitting his time between catcher and first base in the final days of spring training.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). She is also a credentialed NHL reporter and a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. You can follow her @Emma Lingan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.