Pittsburgh Pirates 2023 Opening Day Roster Prediction: Version 4.0

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With Grapefruit League games now underway, what does the latest projected Opening Day roster look like for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Spring Training is now in full swing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of Major League Baseball. With over two weeks worth of camp and three Grapefruit League games now under their belts, the Pirates are less than a month away from Opening Day in Cincinnati.

With Opening Day in Cincinnati now just 29 days away it will soon be time for manager Derek Shelton and his coaching staff to start making roster decisions. While a lot of the roster is pretty set, there are still some roster decisions to be made.

What will the bullpen look like? Who wins the second base job? Which catcher will serve as the primary backup to Austin Hedges? Does the team go with a five or six-man starting rotation to start the season? What will the bench look like?

Today, we'll take our latest dive into attempting to predict the team's Opening Day roster. Let's get to it.

Catcher - Austin Hedges, Kevin Plawecki

This is one position where the prediction has changed since our last Opening Day roster prediciton. While Austin Hedges (obvisouly) is still proejcted to be the team's primary catcher, his projected backup has changed.

For much of the offseason, the projected backup was Tyler Heineman. This was due to the Pittsburgh Pirates re-signing Heineman to a minor league contract early in the offseason. However, after adding veteran Kevin Plawecki via a minor league contract we're now going to project him to be the backup to Hedges.

Neither Heineman nor Plawecki will bring much to the table offensively. However, Plawecki is the far superior offensive player. Hell, he's a better hitter than Hedges, but Hedges is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball.

Plawecki is not as strong a defender as Heineman but he is still a strong defensive backstop. Combine this with him being the better offensive option of the two and we'll peg Plawecki to be the team's backup catcher to start the regular season.

Infield - Ke'Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Rodolfo Castro, Ji-Man Choi, Carlos Santana, Ji-Hwan Bae, Chris Owings

While the main pieces remain the same, this is another group that has seen a change to the projected Opening Day roster.

Throughout the offseason, we talked about the Pittsburgh Pirates' need to add a backup middle infielder, specifically one that was a right-handed hitter and a good defender at shortstop. Well, that happened earlier this month when veteran Chris Owings signed with the team on a minor league deal.

Owings can play third base, shortstop, and second base, as well as being capable in the outfield. This positional flexibility should help him find his way onto the team's Opening Day roster. Being a right-handed hitter should also help his cause. Owings can back Oneil Cruz up defensively, while also protecting Cruz against tough left-handed pitchers and helping to prevent Cruz from getting into elongated slumps agaisnt lefties.

Otherwise, the infield projection remains the. Ke'Bryan Hayes is locked in at third base, just as Cruz is at shortstop. While there is a battle at second base, Rodolfo Castro will most likely win that job. Ji-Man Choi and Carlos Santana will both be on the Opening Day roster, splitting time at first base while both will likely see their fair share of at-bats as the team's designated hitter.

Ji-Hwan Bae is lumped in with this group as well. Bae could see plenty of playing time in the outfield as well, potentially even becoming a starting outfielder, but with him battling Castro for the second base job we'll put him with the infielders for this projection. More than likley, Bae will bounce around the field in a utility role as Derek Shelton looks to get his bat and speed in the lineup as often as possible.

Outfield - Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Andrew McCutchen, Connor Joe

The players projected to make up the Pirate outfield have not changed. However, how the outfield is constructed could be changing as it appears that Bryan Reynolds could be playing more left field this season.

Reynolds played left field when he was first promoted to the majors in 2019. After being the team's primary center fielder the best two seasons, it appears he could be sliding back over to left field in an effort to watch his work load.

This would likely lead to Jack Suwinski seeing plenty of starts in center field. However, with Suwinski looking like a platoon player, this could create some question marks as to who starts in center against left-handed pitching. Reynolds may just simply slide back over to center field in those situations. Bae could also factor into the center field equation.

Between right field and designated hitter Andrew McCutchen will be in the lineup nearly every day for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It could be in right field, first base, or designated hitter, but Connor Joe should be in the lineup when the Pirates face a left-handed starting pitcher.

Starting rotation - Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Rich Hill, JT Brubaker, Johan Oviedo, Vince Velasquez

This is an area of some debate. What is not a deabte is that Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, and Rich Hill will anchor the rotation. Keller appears primed for a big year, while Contreras should take a big step forward the way Keller did last season. If those two things happen while Hill pitches the way he has throughout his long MLB career, the Pirate rotation will have a very strong top three.

After these top three, things start to get a bit murky. JT Brubaker and Vince Velasquez will both be on the Opening Day roster. That is not a question. The question is will both be in the starting rotation? Or will one of them bump to the bullpen to create a spot for Johan Oviedo? Perhaps, Oviedo starts the season at Triple-A Indianapolis.

It's hard to envision Brubaker not starting the season in the rotation. He was a workhorse for the Pirates last season. Brubaker struggled in his first two starts, the second of which saw him get burnt by horrible defense, and his final start of the season when he likely should have just finished the season on the injured list. In the 25 starts in between, he posted a 4.30 ERA and a 3.84 FIP in 134.0 innings pitched.

Seemingly, this would leave Velasquez and Oviedo battling for the final rotation spot. It appears the Pirates prepare to enter the season with Velasquez in the starting rotation, in addition to having stuff that's too good to not start gaems Oviedo also has nothing left to prove in the minors.

Seeing the team roll with a six-man rotation to start the season would not be a surprise. It could also help them limit innings early in the season for Contreras and Oviedo, who could have their workloads watched this season, as well as Hill who is no spring chicken.

One of Velasquez or Brubaker, more likely Velasquez, could start in the bullpen. Oviedo could start at Triple-A. However, for now, we'll project some fashion of six-man starting rotation, even if it's just piggyback situations, when the season begins.

Bullpen - David Bednar, Wil Crowe, Colin Holderman, Jarlín García, Jose Hernandez, Chase De Jong, Duane Underwood Jr.

Again, it would not be a surprise to see Brubaker or Velasquez join this group. But for now, this is the bullpen we will project. It's not the bullpen that I would like to see head north to Cincinnati, but it's the one I think we'll see.

Yerry De Los Santos deserves a spot, but having minor league options while Chase De Jong and Duane Underwood Jr. do not will likely leave him without a spot. Although, Underwood Jr. will likely enter the season with a pretty short leash.

Seeing top relief pitching prospect Colin Selby crack the Opening Day bullpen would also be intriguing. But, like De Los Santos, having minor league options likely leads to him starting the season in the Indianapolis bullpen.

One change on this list from the last roster prediction is Robert Stephenson. Due to elbow inflammation, Stephenson is not currently pitching off a mound. With Opening Day 29 days away, it looks like Stephenson will start the season on the injured list. If he is healthy, he likely takes Underwood Jr.'s spot.

Next. Increased Slider Usage Could Benefit Chase De Jong. dark

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