20250906, The Altoona Curve face the Richmond Flying Squirrels at Peoples Natural Gas Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania (Photos by Harrison Barden)
Nothing gets you ready for baseball season quite like the first few cracks of the bat or pops of a catcher’s mitt at spring training.
The Pittsburgh Pirates reported to Bradenton on Wednesday for spring training and the start of the 2026 regular season is quickly approaching.
As always, the Pirates can write some players who will be on the Opening Day roster in sharpie. But there are several questions who the final handful of spots will go to.
Let’s take an early crack at projecting the Pirates’ Opening Day roster.
Catchers: Henry Davis, Joey Bart
Unless Bart gets traded, this is the most logical scenario for the Pirates. Davis established himself as a quality defensive backstop and will be behind the plate for Paul Skenes for the opener against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Bart, meanwhile, was one of the Pirates’ top hitters in 2024. Though his production slipped last season, he was again one of the team’s top hitters in 2025… not that that’s saying all that much.
Endy RodrÃguez, who is coming off a second elbow surgery and Rafael Flores, who doesn’t have much experience at Triple-A, are probably better served starting the year in Indianapolis.
Infielders: Nick Gonzales, Konnor Griffin, Spencer Horwitz, Brandon Lowe, Jared Triolo, Nick Yorke
Lets’ start with the biggest story. I’m a little more skeptical of Griffin making the Opening Day roster than most, but he he performs well this spring, he will make it. Though it’s truly a toss-up for me at best right now, I’ll give him the edge over a depth piece like Enmanuel Valdez.
Horwitz, the team’s top hitter from a season ago, will start at first base most days, especially against righties. Lowe and his 31 home runs with the Rays last season will start at second base. If Griffin starts at shortstop, Triolo will slide in at third base and Gonzales and Yorke, the latter of whom can also play some outfield, will have bench roles.
Outfielders: Oneil Cruz, Jake Mangum, Ryan O’Hearn, Bryan Reynolds
One thing is known for sure. Cruz will be in center. Who is to his left and right is still up in the air. We know Reynolds and O’Hearn will start out there but which player is in left and which is in right is still TBD. The Pirates will be banking on bounce-back seasons from Reynolds and Cruz and for O’Hearn to match last year’s production after signing as a free agent.
While there’s enough upside offensively between the trio, the defense leaves a lot to be desired. Having Mangum, a strong defender, serve as fourth outfielder makes a lot of sense. Mangum will be competing with Jhostynxon GarcÃa and Jack Suwinski for a spot on the roster. If Suwinski fails to make the roster, he’ll be removed from the 40-man roster and could end up with another team.
Designated Hitter: Marcell Ozuna
It’s a little bit weird not typing Andrew McCutchen’s name into this spot, but the Pirates went in a different direction in Ozuna. They still haven’t officially announced the signing but I’m expecting it to come on Monday when the full team reports to camp.
Starting Pitchers: Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, José Urquidy
Skenes will look to defend his Cy Young in his third season with the Pirates after quickly establishing himself as one of the top pitchers in baseball. With him on the mound, the Pirates know they will be in position to win every fifth day.
Keller has been solid over the last few seasons but will look to put two halves together and give the Pirates even more. Ashcraft and Chandler both did some impressive things with their first chance in the big leagues last season and are poised for larger roles.
I’m still expecting the Pirates to add another starter to the mix (though viable options are dwindling), but for now we’ll have Urquidy round out the starting five.
Bullpen: Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski, Mason Montgomery, Kyle Nicolas, Yohan RamÃrez, Dennis Santana, Gregory Soto
Santana has been one heck of a find by the Pirates and will be the team’s primary closer after doing well in the role last season. Soto will handle high-leverage spots and will likely get some save chances against lefty-heavy lineups.
There’s again talk of Mlodzinski being stretched out as a starter and it’s understandable, but let’s put him in the bullpen for now, perhaps as a swingman. Mattson was a revelation last season. Lawrence was extremely effective when healthy. The Pirates think highly of Montgomery after acquiring him from the Rays.
It seems like everyone else is competing for the final two spots. I’ll give the nod to Nicolas and RamÃrez over lefty Evan Sisk, right-hander Brandan Bidois and some other candidates including a few non-roster invitees.
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