On Friday, the Pirates told Todd Frazier that he would not make the opening day roster. As a result, the veteran third baseman decided to opt out of his minor-league contract.
The decision came down to defensive versatility, especially after the Pirates decided they would start the season with 14 pitchers, meaning they will only have a four-man bench.
“This is more about Phil Evans than it is Todd Frazier,” Ben Cherington said in a Zoom call Monday. “Phil's done a lot of good things, back to last year, and obviously made a huge sacrifice last year in the way he got hurt trying to make a play. [He] has come into camp and had really good at-bats from our perspective. Played really good defense. So no, [it’s] nothing that Todd Frazier did not do.”
Frazier did homer three times and had a .996 OPS, but Evans has picked up right where he left off in 2020, batting .371 this spring. He’s also made some good plays in the field, including fielding an Andrew Susac throw to pick off a runner at first base Monday.
While the Pirates have given outfielder Dustin Fowler and infielder Erik Gonzalez some reps at first base the last two days, Evans is the projected backup to Colin Moran. Evans can also play third base, corner outfield and second. Frazier was limited to just the corner infield spots.
With that said, Cherington didn’t close the door on a potential reunion with Frazier. The slugger is still looking for a job, and Cherington and Derek Shelton both spoke very highly of him as a clubhouse presence.
“We really enjoyed having him in camp,” Cherington said. “He performed well. And we're still talking to him. We'd still have interest in him being a part of the organization going forward if we can work that out."
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• Cherington said that Cody Ponce will not be ready for opening day Thursday. He went to the team in early March and said that "something didn't feel right" in his right forearm, and while he never stopped throwing, the Pirates were much more cautious with him this spring.
Steven Brault will also not be ready, as expected after a left lat strain his shoulder.
• In other roster news, Shelton said postgame that Michael Perez will be the team's backup catcher. Cherington also said he felt comfortable keeping Rule 5 pick Luis Oviedo, even though he has not pitched above Class A and was limited this spring because of visa issues.
"He’s shown good stuff," Cherington said. "It was obviously an abbreviated spring training for him. In that abbreviated time, he’s shown an ability to bounce back. Hasn’t had issues bouncing back from outings. He’s shown the ability to throw two really good major league pitches and get his breaking ball in the strike zone. We feel good about what we’ve seen, even though it was a short amount of time. Excited to move forward with him.
Oviedo allowed one run over three innings this spring.
Cherington also confirmed that Evans, Anthony Alford and Dustin Fowler would make the team.
The final spot seems to be between right-handers Duane Underwood Jr., Wil Crowe and Clay Holmes. Holmes will need to be added to the roster to make the team, but Underwood would need to be exposed to waivers if he doesn't make the team, so a roster spot isn't a concern.
• Veterans Brian Goodwin and Chasen Shreve were both reassigned to minor-league camp Monday. However, they both are expected to be part of the Pirates' alternate training camp since they did not have spring training opt outs in their minor-league deals.
No word if that also applies to Tony Wolters, who missed out on the backup catcher job. Chase De Jong was also reassigned Monday, and Geoff Hartlieb was optioned to the minors.
The Pirates will be bringing five players on their taxi squad to Chicago Thursday. Some of those veterans who were reassigned could be part of that group as well.
• The Pirates announced they will be using three facilities as their alternate training site Monday. They will be using a locker room at Heinz Field as a clubhouse. When the Pirates are on the road, players will train at PNC Park. If the Pirates are at home, players in camp will be at Charles L. Cost Field at the University of Pittsburgh.
The coaching staff will mostly consist of the Class AAA staff, "with maybe an exception or two." Last year, Class AAA manager Brian Esposito ran the camp, with pitching coach Joel Hanrahan and hitting coach Jon Nunnally assisting. A full announcement for players and coaches should be announced soon.
The Altoona Curve offered again to play host, but Cherington wanted to make sure they had a chance to prepare for their season.
"We want to give Altoona -- Altoona as in the actual group that runs the Altoona team -- a chance to get ready for their season in May," Cherington said. "If they're hosting us again in April, then it makes it really hard for them to be ready for their season."
There's no word how long MLB will be using alternate sites this season. The minor-league season will start May 4. The Pirates' arrangements with the Steelers and Pitt go through the end of April.
• Chad Kuhl will be the Pirates' opening day starter Thursday against the Cubs. The rest of the rotation, and the order they'll be used, is still up in the air and up to Shelton and Oscar Marin.
"We expect Tyler Anderson to make starts," Cherington said. "We expect [JT] Brubaker to make starts. We expect [Trevor] Cahill to make starts. Expect [Mitch] Keller to make starts. And there will be more than that. We know that we’ll be calling on more guys than that."
In Keller's case, the 24-year-old right-hander was shaky this spring, but Cherington still is excited about his potential.
"Obviously, Mitch has really good stuff, and he worked hard this winter to hold the stuff that he had had at the end of last season, in terms of the velocity and the shape on his breaking balls. He worked hard to maintain that, sustain that into spring training. We think he has. So it's really about dominating counts, really, being able to control counts and be in the strike zone and use that stuff to his advantage. So he's working hard at it. It's a combined effort with Mitch and our pitching coach group, obviously, and catchers. We've got a lot of faith in the effort he's putting in and certainly a lot of faith in the talent, and looking forward to seeing him continue to improve."
