ST. LOUIS -- The Pirates have announced their 28 player roster ahead of their opening day game with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium Thursday.
Their 14 pitchers, alphabetical order, are: Anthony Banda, David Bednar, JT Brubaker, Wil Crowe, Aaron Fletcher, Heath Hembree, Mitch Keller, Dillon Peters, José Quintana, Chris Stratton, Zach Thompson, Duane Underwood Jr., Bryse Wilson and Miguel Yajure.
Brubaker will get the start on opening day, followed by Keller, Wilson and Thompson in the four-game Cardinals series, and then Quintana for the home opener start on Tuesday against the Cubs.
On the hitting side, the 14 position players are: Diego Castillo (INF/OF), Michael Chavis (INF), Ben Gamel (OF), Ke’Bryan Hayes (INF), Andrew Knapp (C), Kevin Newman (INF), Hoy Park (INF/OF), Jake Marisnick (OF), Roberto Pérez (C), Bryan Reynolds (OF), Yoshi Tsutsugo (1B/DH), Cole Tucker (INF/OF), Josh VanMeter (INF/OF) and Daniel Vogelbach (1B/DH).
Knapp and Marisnick both were officially signed to major-league deals Thursday. To make room on the roster, outfielder Greg Allen was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left hamstring injury, and right-hander Adonis Medina has been designated for assignment.
Six other players are starting the year on the injured list. Right-handers Blake Cederlind (UCL) and Nick Mears (right elbow surgery) are on the 60-day injured list, while Anthony Alford (right hand), Sam Howard (back), Max Kranick (forearm) and Luis Oviedo (right ankle) are all on the 10-day.
Rosters are expanded to 28 for the month of April to accommodate the abbreviated spring training, which was only about half as long as normal because of the offseason lockout. Active rosters will be reduced to the normal 26 players at the start of May.
Dejan Kovacevic and I will have you covered from Busch Stadium for opening day. First pitch is at 4:15 p.m. Eastern.