Pirates don’t have many jobs still open
PITTSBURGH (AP) – For a team that has lost 190 games over the last two seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates won’t have many jobs open when spring training starts next week in Bradenton, Fla. The biggest unanswered question for most of the offseason – who would play first base – was resolved when they traded for Adam LaRoche last month. That move leaves the second baseman’s job as the most unsettled issue as the start of camp approaches.
A position-by-position look:
First base: LaRoche not only improves the Pirates’ offense as a left-handed power bat, he gives them an excellent defensive first baseman. The only question is how many starts he’ll make. He will get a day off occasionally against some tough left-handers; 25 of his 32 homers and 70 of his 90 RBIs last season were against right-handers. Xavier Nady can play first when LaRoche rests.
Second base: Jose Castillo looked to be the Pirates’ second baseman for the long term until he ended last season with a terrible slump, going 8-for-73 (.110) with only two RBIs and two extra-base hits after Sept. 1. That prompted Jack Wilson, at the team’s recent fan festival, to challenge Castillo to show up for camp in shape, ready to play and “be the player he can be.” Manager Jim Tracy plans to give Jose Bautista a chance to challenge Castillo, who hasn’t had much time off since last season ended. Between the Venezuelan winter league and the Caribbean series, he will have played about 60 games.
Shortstop: Wilson has his own challenge: to play better than he did last season, when one of the NL’s best defensive shortstops made 18 errors. Wilson also had the same number of homers (8) and fewer RBIs (35) than he had in 2005 (52), when he lost 20 pounds following an appendicitis attack.
Third base: Hard to believe this was Joe Randa’s job at this time a year ago. Freddy Sanchez is coming off one of the most surprising seasons in club history, winning the NL batting title with a .344 average. The only question is whether he’ll play third or move to second; if Bautista beats out Castillo, Sanchez may shift to second so Bautista can play third.
Left field: Jason Bay has been a model of consistency almost since the day he was traded by San Diego late in the 2003 season. His homers and RBIs have gone up in each of his three Pirates seasons as a starter, and only his batting average dipped a bit last season (.306 in 2005 to .286) with little protection behind him. LaRoche should solve that problem.
Center field: This is Chris Duffy’s job all the way – of course, it was a year ago, until he hit only .194 in April and May. He also got into such a spat with management, after the team tried to change his hitting approach, that he refused to report to the minors for nearly a month. Once he got back to the majors, he hit .336 in September and had 23 stolen bases in his final 53 games. No wonder Tracy says Duffy could be the key to the Pirates’ season.
Right field: Nady is the player GM Dave Littlefield originally wanted in that Brian Giles trade in 2003 that brought Bay to Pittsburgh. Now, the Pirates have both Bay and Nady. Nady hit a solid .300 in his 55 games after being dealt by the Mets in the Oliver Perez trade, but his homers and RBIs dropped off. After shifting to PNC Park and its spacious left field, Nady had only three homers; he hit 14 with the Mets in 75 games.
Catcher: Ronny Paulino didn’t make the team coming out of spring training, but hit .310 in 442 at-bats after being called up – the highest rookie average by an NL catcher since Mike Piazza (.318) in 1993. The Pirates need backup Ryan Doumit to hit much better than his .208 of last season, especially since the switch-hitter is one of their few left-handed hitters with power. Humberto Cota doesn’t figure to make the team after hitting .190 with one extra-base hit in 100 at-bats last season.
Bullpen: Salomon Torres becomes the closer with Mike Gonzalez now in Atlanta, but the right-hander often struggles early in a season. Former Brewers closer Danny Kolb was added as insurance in case Torres returns to a setup role. Bullpen depth with Matt Capps, Damaso Marte, John Grabow and, possibly, rookie right-hander Josh Sharpless, looks to be a strength.
Starting rotation: Only the No. 5 starter’s spot appears to be in question, with Tony Armas Jr. and Shawn Chacon competing. Right-hander Ian Snell and left-handers Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny and Paul Maholm are locked in, with veteran Marty McLeary (2-0, 2.04 ERA) and Shane Youman (0-2, 2.91 ERA) in reserve.
Bench: With Doumit, Bautista, Nate McLouth and Jose Hernandez, the Pirates have power and a good mix of right- and left-handed hitters for the late innings.