PIRATES

Time will tell whether Konnor Griffin will factor into the Pirates' plans once they conclude spring training in Bradenton, Fla. and travel to Flushing, N.Y. for opening day. 

Griffin, the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, is attending major-league camp as a non-roster invitee and could see himself with an opportunity to make the club. His performance would seemingly have to be overwhelmingly positive and he'd have to display enough growth as a 19-year-old star who has yet to play above Class AA. 

If Griffin begins the year down in the minors, perhaps Nick Gonzales would fit into the mix as the Pirates' stopgap at shortstop, at least until Griffin is deemed major-league ready. 

Gonzales is a former first-round pick who has seemingly been pushed out of a regular role at second base after the Pirates acquired Brandon Lowe this winter. Now, he'll look to fight for another opportunity at shortstop, a position Jared Triolo could also factor into the equation at. While most of Gonzales' major-league playing time has come over at second, he has 230 innings of experience at shortstop and somewhat regularly found time there last spring. 

Ben Cherington said in December that Gonzales has been taking regular offseason reps at both second and short in preparation for the 2026 season. The Pirates believe he's capable of playing either of the positions up the middle, despite the fact that he displayed below-average arm strength (27th percentile) and committed eight errors -- three more than the year before -- at second base last season. 

"We see him having a really important role on the team," Cherington said of Gonzales, a -0.6 bWAR player who hit .260 with a .661 OPS, five home runs and 30 RBIs in 96 games last season. "Nick is an important player for us. Think he does some things offensively that are unique and believe fit well with our group. Aggressive making contact. He works his tail off. He's worked his tail off to become a really good and versatile defensive player. And the biggest thing about Nick, we can go back to his amateur days in the draft, he's just always met the challenge in front of him. We acquired a player who we believe in, who we expect to play some second base, in Brandon Lowe. This is an opportunity for Nick to continue to push for an opportunity on the major-league team. We believe that's kind of what he's always done, and can see him doing that in any number of ways."