"He's healthy now," Marin told the media. Pitching coach Oscar Marin mentioned that when he met with the media in Bradenton on Thursday. This alone is a reason that Smith could crack the Pirate Opening Day roster.įinally, and maybe most importantly, Smith is healthy. Especially left-handed pitching coming out of their bullpen. While you feel good about García, being a Rule 5 Draft selection Hernandez is a complete unknown and it's not a given he cracks the team's Opening Day roster.Ī major league team can never have enough left-handed pitching. Right now, the only left-handed relievers on the team's 40-man roster are Jarlín García and Jose Hernandez. Derek Shelton could go to him early in the game in long relief when a starting pitcher is struggling, he could give the team multiple innings in an extra innings marathon, or he could cover multiple innings in middle or even late relief on nights the bullpen might be short.Īnother role Smith could play for the Pirates is giving them another left-handed relief option. Smith could give the Pirates multiple innings out of the bullpen in a variety of ways. This is the first reason why he could crack the team's Opening Day roster, as this is a role that is up in the air for the upcoming season. For multiple reasons, it would not be a surprise to see Smith head north with the Pittsburgh Pirates to Cincinnati for Opening Day.Ī full-time starting pitcher until the past two seasons, Smith could pitch in long relief roles for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023. While Smith is a player that is generating little buzz among Pirate fans, he is a player that people should not be overlooking this spring. One of these players is a left-handed reliever who was recently signed. There are a few other non-roster invitees who could crack the team's Opening Day roster as well. In fact, with the team uncertain who the backup catcher will be behind Austin Hedges at least one non-roster invitee, either Tyler Heineman or Kevin Plawecki, is guaranteed to crack the Opening Day roster. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, there are multiple noteworthy non-roster invitees in camp who could make the Opening Day roster. Many times in spring training non-roster invitees can be overlooked, maybe even forgotten. he is flying under the radar of Pirate fans right now, it would not be a surprise to see lefty Caleb Smith crack the team's Opening Day roster Vince Velasquez faces Carlos Santana in live batting practice Wednesday at Pirate City. Two offseason free agent acquisitions faced off together in a live BP, as Vince Velasquez pitched against Carlos Santana. When he came over in the Jose Quintana trade, he had some very heavy home/road splits in an extreme hitter friendly ballpark but erased any worries once coming over to Pittsburgh and flashed power in Altoona.įirst base prospect Malcom Nunez got absolutely all of this one /Oa0nIRnkcK Clean double in live BPs against Caleb Smith. In what is sure to bring back strong memories, Andrew McCutchen lines a double down the left field line while facing non roster invite Caleb Smith.Ĭutch has still got it. Good morning, good afternoon and good night. ![]() Quinn Priester vs Malcom NunezĪ pair of non-roster invitees and top prospects in the system, Quinn Priester and Malcom Nunez faced off against each other in a live BP session, with the 2019 first round pick getting his opposition to swing and miss at three straight pitches. ![]() Welcome to the Pirates Prospects daily video rundown, where we pull some of the top videos of the Pittsburgh Pirates across the internet.
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