Non-Roster Invitees

[magnumo]

Today's media reports indicate that the Pirates have 43 players remaining in camp, 31 from the 40-man roster and 12 NRI's.

Those numbers are a little "over-stated," since 4 of the total (Liriano, Morton, D'Arnaud from the 40-man and Contreras from the NRI's) will open the season on the DL. The 43 and 12 numbers also include 2 NRI catchers (May and Paulino) who remain in camp only to allow more pitchers to throw. So..... in reality, the numbers are down to 37, including 9 remaining NRI's: including pitchers Mazzaro, Reid, Jonathan Sanchez, and Zagurski..... along with position players DeJesus, Goedert, Hawpe, Inge, and Pie.

Open roster spots, the way I see it:

- Burnett, Rodriguez, and McDonald are locks for the rotation, with Karstens probable if he's healthy..... leaving one open rotation spot.

- In the bullpen, we have Grilli, Melancon, Hughes, Leroux, and Morris as likely (Leroux and Morris due to lack of options), along with Watson if he's healthy..... leaving one open spot in the bullpen.

- Position players/bench: Barring injury, we know that none of the 5 remaining position player NRI's will be a starter. We know that McKenry, Jones/G.Sanchez, and Snider/Tabata will be on the bench..... leaving two open bench spots.

The competition, the way I see it:

Sanchez (NRI), Locke, McPherson, and Gomez remain in competition for a rotation slot. One way to analyze this situation is to consider what's likely to happen with each guy if he DOESN'T make the rotation:

- Sanchez has indicated that he wants to start. Hence, if he loses out in the rotation competition, it seems likely that the Pirates will lose him to his "out" clause. That's a shame, because I wouldn't mind seeing Sanchez take the last (lefty) slot in the bullpen.

- Locke has options remaining, so he could be sent to Indianapolis. There may be an outside chance that the Bucs keep him as a second lefty in the bullpen, but it seems more likely that they will want him starting at Indy.

- McPherson has options remaining. It seems to be a sure thing that he will be sent to the Indy rotation if he doesn't open the season in the Pirate rotation.

- Gomez is out of options. Gomez making the rotation seems very unlikely at this point. My guess is that the Pirates will try to sneak him through waivers but will lose him on a waiver claim.

Mazzaro, Reid, and Zagurski (all NRI's) are competing with Wilson for the last BP slot, if my analysis above is accurate. I see Mazzaro and Reid with essentially no shot, leaving Zagurski and Wilson (both lefties).

NRI's DeJesus, Goedert, Hawpe, Inge, and Pie are competing with Harrison, Mercer, and Presley for the remaining 2 spots on the bench. The good news is that only 2 of those 8 players will make the team. I have posted elsewhere which players I would prefer to survive..... but some of the media reports coming out of spring training are bizarre enough that I won't try to predict who actually WILL make the team.

One thing is for sure: Since the 40-man roster is full, and Jeanmar Gomez appears to be the only likely loss from the 40-man roster, other guys will need to be jettisoned if more than one NRI makes the team. The most challenging situation would be if Sanchez makes the rotation, Zagurski is kept for the bullpen, and 2 NRI's make the bench. Assuming Gomez is gone, that would require cutting 3 additional players from the 40-man roster.

 

[magnumo]

Hmmm.....

- The Pirates used their new-found option on Morris, leaving a second opening in the bullpen..... and probably assuring that they WON'T take their best bullpen north.

- Zagurski (NRI) had another bad outing today, perhaps reducing his chances.

- They cut DeJesus (NRI) and Goedert (NRI)..... leaving 6 competitors for the final 2 bench spots: NRI's Hawpe, Inge, and Pie..... and 40-man roster members Harrison, Mercer, and Presley. I guess I'm not surprised..... but kind of disappointed. In fact, it's scary to me that Hawpe and Inge are still in camp. I truly believe that either DeJesus or Goedert has more upside (and a higher probability of helping the team) than Inge. And Hawpe?..... sheeesh!

 

[sychmd]

bench:
tabata, sanchez, mcK, mcD
i see only one spot left to fill.
either inge or mercer.
inge = veteran, power, and 3rd catcher, ss/2B/3B
mercer = young, potential future ss, speed, SS depth, bat might grow with some consistent opportunity

 

[Darkstone42]

I think Mercer gets sent down in hopes that he can develop into a starter with regular at bats.

 

[sychmd]

darkstone, i agree.
even though he is the younger option for the 5th spot, i think inge brings more flexibility for limited play opportunities.
if mercer is really going to help us, he needs to really take that step this year in AAA being the starting SS. then if mcD or barmes gets injured, he can be brought up to get some split time regular play and see what he's got.
his window of development is getting thin.

 

[magnumo]

I agree with the speculation that Mercer probably will open as the starting SS at Indy.

I would prefer either Pie or Presley as a lefty bat off the bench..... but I fear that the final bench slot will go to Inge or Harrison.

By the way, I've read several times that Inge is no longer an option at catcher..... although I believe he's enough of a gamer to catch for an inning or two in an "emergency," until the team could summon Tony Sanchez from Indy or another catcher from elsewhere. At any rate, I HOPE that "emergency catcher" is NOT the deciding factor in giving Inge the last bench slot.

At least Hawpe is gone.

 

[sychmd]

looking at inge not to actually play C.
more to be an emergency option so if martin is playing, and we want mck to ph, but keep martin at C. last year, we lost the backup c as a ph in case late game injury to martin. unlikely martin would get injured, but in case, have a 3rd c for that 1-2 innings.
rarely used if at all. but gives flexibility to use mck as ph.

 

[magnumo]

According to a report on the Pirate page at MLB.com, NRI's Jonathan Sanchez and Brandon Inge have both made the team:

Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez makes Pirates' rotation | pirates.com: News

Sanchez will open in the rotation, and Inge likely will open on the 15-day DL. The team will need to open spots on the 40-man roster for both players. I expect them to put Morton on the 60-day DL to open one slot..... but will watch with interest to see whom they drop to make room for Inge.

I believe there are 6 additional NRI's remaining in camp: Mazzaro, Reid, Zagurski, May, Paulino, and Pie. It seems assured that catchers May and Paulino will be shipped out before the team heads north.

The last cuts will be interesting, since there remain openings in the bullpen and on the bench. Zagurski may have pitched himself out of contention by yielding home runs in each of his last 4 appearances (but he IS a lefty). Reid has pitched very well during the spring, while Mazzaro has mostly stunk until his last outing. Meanwhile, I'd almost bet money that Harrison will be the last bench guy (at least until Inge comes off the 15-day DL), while Pie will be sent to Indy.