BRADENTON, Fla. — Sean Rodriguez's one path to playing every day was blocked last month when the Pirates acquired Corey Dickerson to start in left field.
However, Clint Hurdle has a plan to get Rodriguez regular at-bats, including in center field, where Rodriguez will serve as the primary backup behind Starling Marte. The idea is for Rodriguez and Adam Frazier to fill that role in order to keep Gregory Polanco comfortable in right.
Rodriguez, 31, has played only 19 career games in center field, but he expressed absolute confidence that he and Frazier can allow Polanco and the Pirates' other starters to stick with their primary positions.
"I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: I'm the backup center fielder," said Rodriguez, who hit a solo home run in the Pirates' 13-5 victory over the Twins on Saturday at LECOM Park. "A lot of people typically laugh when I say it, but I hold true to that. I want these guys to know they don't have to move. Polanco doesn't have to go to center to play a game if Marte needs a day. Put me out there, put Frazier out there."
Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with the home run — his team-leading fourth this spring — in the sixth inning against the Twins and declared he is finally healthy after missing most of last season. He is batting .300 with an OPS of 1.077 in 30 at-bats and four stolen bases this spring. Most of his playing time has come at shortstop and center field.
Rodriguez, who was re-acquired by the Pirates in August, played in just 53 games in 2017 after undergoing shoulder surgery in February — the result of a horrific car accident.
Doctors expected him to miss the entire season, but Rodriguez returned in July to play 15 games for the Braves, whom he signed with in December 2016 to be the every day second baseman. But the Pirates reacquired him with the idea that he could help replace Jung Ho Kang at third base.
That plan did not come to fruition, as the club opted to acquire Colin Moran in the Gerrit Cole trade. Rodriguez was among the candidates to start in left field after Andrew McCutchen was traded, but Dickerson, an All-Star with the Rays in 2017, will now fill that void.
So, Rodriguez and Frazier will now occupy two of the Pirates' spots on the bench, giving Hurdle the option to give Marte, Polanco, Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer a day off when necessary.
"Right now as we talk he’s one of the guys we’ve went to and got more reps to in center field," Hurdle said of Rodriguez. "Frazier can go there, Sean can go there. I would probably, as Sean and I have talked, I would probably move him there after Marte. If [Marte] needs a rest right now he’d be the guy we go to, and Frazier could get a look as well. His versatility, his track record of it, is proven. He makes defense look effortless at times wherever you put him. We’re going to find spots for him, we’re going to find at-bats for him and that’s going to be another interesting and fun part for all of us."
Frazier has played in only five games in center, although he played in 46 games there during his minor league career, but Hurdle will also try to get him on the field because he is one of the Pirates' best hitters with a .387 average this spring.
Polanco would be an ideal candidate to move to center whenever Marte needs a day off. After all, the 26-year-old spent most of his minor league career in center field. But Hurdle has said on multiple occasions that he does not want to move Polanco out of right, even if the 26-year-old is capable of playing both center and left.
The Pirates' initial outfield alignment in 2017 had Polanco in left field and he started 25 games there, but he expressed to Hurdle and the front office the he didn't feel comfortable, so he was moved back to right. Now, Hurdle plans on keeping Polanco there in an effort to "let him work on becoming the best right fielder he can be."
Rodriguez and Frazier want to give Hurdle the ability to do that with Polanco and every other starter.
"[Frazier and I] were talking about that today, us pushing each other in that aspect. 'All right, man, you have to get better at this.' 'Oh, you do, too,'" Rodriguez said of playing center field. "Basically making it to where guys can stay comfortable. Let it be the ones who are making it uncomfortable on us, carrying extra gloves and having to move around positions. You guys settle in and try to maximize what you can do in that one spot. Let us flow."