Pirates Opening Day Roster Predictions 2.0 (+)
Two weeks from Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates will play their first regular season game when they take on the Marlins in Miami on Opening Day.
The Pirates are 10-8 so far on the spring, good for second place in the Grapefruit League behind only the 11-6 Toronto Blue Jays. No, spring training standings don’t matter, but certain players performing well is a reason the Pirates have so far been successful.
A number of the Pirates’ top performers this spring have forced me to make alterations from my initial roster projection from when pitchers and catchers reported last month.
With two more weeks to go before all decisions are to be made, here’s how I see the Pirates 26-man roster shaping up.
Catchers: Joey Bart, Henry Davis
Bart has carried over his strong 2024 season with the Pirates into the spring and there’s no reason to think he won’t be the starting backstop and battery mate of Paul Skenes on Opening Day.
Who his backup will be is an interesting battle. Both Davis and Endy Rodríguez are playing well. Either one looks worthy of a spot on the roster so far. But given Rodríguez missed the entire 2024 season except for a handful of minor-league games at the end of the season, let’s allow him to get his legs fully under him with Indianapolis.
Infielders: Adam Frazier, Nick Gonzales, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, DJ Stewart, Jared Triolo
The lone change on this portion is Stewart surpassing Billy Cook as the fill-in at first base for the injured Spencer Horwitz. Stewart, a non-roster invitee who signed a minor-league deal in the offseason, is having a solid spring and could be the first one to get a crack as the primary first baseman to start the year.
I’m still assuming Gonzales to start at second base, Kiner-Falefa to start at short and Hayes at the hot corner assuming all are healthy. The Pirates love Triolo’s defensive ability and versatility and Frazier will join him on the bench.
Outfielders: Oneil Cruz, Tommy Pham, Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski
Cruz will start the year in center after changing positions from shortstop last August. Reynolds will slide from left field to right this season and Pham was brought in to play left.
The fourth outfielder spot, as of now, looks like it’s Suwinski’s to lose. He’s played well this spring and has seemingly put his dreadful 2024 campaign behind him.
Starting rotation: Paul Skenes. Mitch Keller, Jared Jones, Bailey Falter, Andrew Heaney
The rotation is the easiest of the position groups to predict. Johan Oviedo will be sidelined until late May at the earliest as he recovers from last offseason’s Tommy John surgery and deals with a lat issue.
Skenes is one of the favorites to win the National League Cy Young. Keller has been an anchor in the rotation for the past few years. Jones will look to build on an encouraging rookie season and Falter will look to do the same after his first full-season as a starter. Heaney was brought in as a free agent after spending the last two seasons with the Texas Rangers.
Bullpen: David Bednar, Colin Holderman, Caleb Ferguson, Tim Mayza, Carmen Mlodzinski, Kyle Nicolas, Dennis Santana, Peter Strzelecki
The final spot in the Pirates’ bullpen is still up for grabs but nothing has changed from my first projections just yet.
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