PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates GM Ben Cherington spoke to reporters for the first time this month saying he's already had trade talks, but not to the intensity like December, January or July.
Cherington admits in a couple of weeks, center fielder Brian Goodwin and INF Todd Frazier, will have opt-outs if not on the major league roster. Each currently at the alternate training site and recently joined by center fielder Jared Oliva, who initially was sent to Bradenton to work on mechanics.
The plan remains for the Pirates to stay with a roster of 14 pitchers and 12 position players 'for the foreseeable future'.
The team yet to assign minor league players to their teams. Cherington said he will make those decisions in the next few days to weeks.
There are plans to get not just the rest of the players in Pittsburgh (including the alternate site) vaccinated, but opportunities made available now for all the Pirates minor leaguers in Bradenton to get shots.
Other topics…
Ke'Bryan Hayes remains on the injured list, but is making progress. When might he return?
"A bat in his hands and swinging is a good sign," Cherington said. "As far as a timeline. Don't know. Don't want to guess. It means we are taking a step forward and that is encouraging. Feel good about the longer-term prognosis."
CF
Going into Thursday's game, Pirates center fielders, Anthony Alford and Dustin Fowler, were 5-47 with one double.
"We came into Spring Training and the season knowing outfield is an area where we were looking to get more production from and find out more about guys. We are 12 games in. It's really early still. We are still learning."
"I think we want to give it some time and see where this goes. We have young players out there that are getting a chance to play at the Major League level for the first time with any level of consistency. There often is an adjustment period. We want to support that."
"At the same time, we want to eventually see better production also."
After a few horrible games in Cincinnati, Bucs winning 4 of its last 5
"I think we are showing some resilience. I think we showed some good toughness coming back. I think it helps getting home in front of fans."
"We know every day there are going to be things we are encouraged by and also reminders of the things we need to do to get better. We will be thinking that way and thinking that for most days. It feels better when the outcomes are better, but we have to stay focused on what we need to improve."
The development of Rule 5 Draft Pick, pitcher Luis Oviedo
"He's really talented. It's a really good arm. We are really encouraged given how late he came to Spring Training and how few reps he had. We knew it was hard anyway for a Rule 5 player to be in the big league and effectively missing half of Spring Training makes it harder. Given that, really encouraged with how he started the season. Obviously a rougher outing the other day. I think he had gone a handful of days without pitching.
"He's a really young talented pitcher, pitching at the Major League level. He will learn from that and bounce back. We are happy he's here."
"I don't think there is anything holding him back from that (having a bigger role). That will be up to the staff and his own performance. He certainly has the ability to earn meaningful opportunity. It is the major leagues. That will be earned and that will be up to Shelty and the staff to determine."
How they were able to find their leading hitter, Phillip Evans, as a minor league free agent.
"He's the type of player that historically sometimes get overlooked. Guys who do a lot of things well, but not one thing at a superlative level that grabs guys attention. He wasn't a super-high draft pick so it didn't have that kind of profile going through the minor leagues. He just does a lot of things well. He gives a good at bat. He makes good decisions on the bases. He's obviously versatile defensively. He's reliable, a good teammate."
"On top of all that, we did see signs of progress when he was in Triple A with the Cubs. Just in terms of exit (velocity) and potentially getting to a little more power than he had had previously. Will Lawton, who is our director of baseball operations and pro scouting, was aggressive in trying to sign him to a deal that off-season (2019). We are glad he did."
