Pirates Bench Full of Versatile Players in 2016

The Pittsburgh Pirates have many different options for their bench in 2016. They have plenty of versatile options and plenty of straight up position players to choose from.

Opening Day is one week away, and one of the questions the Pirates have to resolve is who will be the five players on the Pirates bench this season. It is up to manager Clint Hurdle and his staff as to whether or not they want to go with versatile players at multiple positions or players who are skilled at one or two positions to help the Pirates off the bench. The Pirates have good players in both scenarios that could help them succeed in 2016.

The Pirates look to have a bench full of versatile players this year who can give everyday players multiple breaks. I can see the bench being Chris Stewart, Sean Rodriguez, Michael Morse, Jason Rodgers, and Pedro Florimon. Each of these players have versatility, which could be a key aspect to the 2016 Pirates.

The main stays from last years Pirates bench are Chris Stewart and Sean Rodriguez. Both of these players have proved successful for the Pirates in past years. Stewart is one of the best back-up catchers in the league. He served as Gerrit Cole's personal catcher towards the end of the season and had 14 wins with Cole. This season he will be back and will serve as the back-up catcher/Cole's personal catcher. 

Rodriguez will serve as the super utility man on the bench in either combination. The role was previously played by Josh Harrison, who is currently the starting second baseman. With Harrison in more than a solidified role, the job will now fall on Rodriguez's shoulders. Last season, Rodriguez appeared all over the field for the Pirates playing at first base, second base, short stop, third base, right field, and left field. He has shown the ability to hold his own at all of these positions comitting a total of three errors between the six positions.

The other players in this combination are wild-card options. First we have Pedro Floriomon, a natural short stop who has seen time at second base and the outfield throughout his career. The former Minnesota Twin saw time with the Pirates last season and played mostly second base and short stop. His big hit with the Pirates was his walk-off triple against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Florimon has been most noted for his defense throughout his professional career with a batting average that has been lacking. Florimon has had a pretty good spring with the bat however hitting .242 with one home run and a team high 12 RBI. If the Pirates go this option, it will be a battle between Cole Figueroa, another utility infielder, and Pedro Florimon. Both would provide strong defense to the team.

In this option Jason Rodgers, acquired from the Brewers in the off-season, would also make the team. Rodgers was a late-season call-up for the Brewers last season and performed well in a small sample size. Rodgers hit .296 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 152 at-bats. Rodgers has experience at first base, third base, right field, and left field.

While not as versatile as Rodriguez, Rodgers has shown the ability to play multiple positions throughout his career. In his minor league career, he has a .991 fielding percentage at first base, his primary position, committing 23 errors in 2270.2 innings. Rodgers is still a young player with some minor league options ahead of him. He has some experience in the outfield which could be useful to the Pirates as well.

Rodgers is a swing guy who could go either to the majors or the minors and succeed for the Pirates. Rodgers is a guy I am really excited for. Whether it be now or in the future, he can bring a lot of skills to the Pirates and will be an intriguing option either now or in the years to come.

The final addition to this versatile bench is Michael Morse. Morse could make an appearance on either bench as well simply for the power bat that he brings to the lineup. He can also play first base and both corner outfield position if he is needed there. Morse is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career but has turned it around this spring hitting .345 with three RBI.

Morse could be a very productive bat off of the Pirates bench in 2016, providing some much needed pop late in the game. I feel that Morse's role will change as the season goes on, and he will eventually be used as a platoon in right field for the Pirates. This will help Morse's chances of making the team immensely because it gives the Pirates a back-up option in case of injury to an outfielder.

The bench will be relied on a lot this season not only for days off, but for offense and speed at the end of the game. These five players will provide excellent defense and can handle any position on the field. However, we will probably see more than these guys throughout the season as it always takes more than 25 players to have a successful season. The Pirates have many players that will be helping them on the bench as the 2016 season progresses.

Vogelsong Strong in Pirates 3-1 Win Over the Boston Red Sox

Ryan Vogelsong went four innings and Pedro Florimon drove in two runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox today at JetBlue park by a final score of 3-1

The Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers shined in today's win over the Boston Red Sox. Six Pirates pitchers combined to give up only one run in the Pirates 3-1 win over the Red Sox. Ryan Vogelsong started the game for Pittsburgh and pitched very well in his third spring training outing. On the offensive side, Pedro Florimon continued his hot spring training driving in two runs in the victory.

Vogelsong showed great poise on the mound today throwing 4.0 innings giving up one run on four hits while striking out two. Vogelsong was able to bounce back nicely in this start after giving up 3 runs in 3.0 innings of work. Vogelsong is trying to have a bounce back season after struggling with the Giants last season. So far in spring training, he has shown resilience on the mound to get out of certain situations. The big blow to Vogelsong today was a home run by Pablo Sandoval in the second inning.

Vogelsong has given up eight hits in nine innings of work. He will have to reduce the number of hits he gives up throughout the season. On a positive note, he has struck out 4 batters in those nine innings of work while only walking two. If he can keep striking out two batters for every one walk he will be good for the rest of the season.

Kyle Lobstein was next and despite pitching in a little bit of trouble, he got out of the inning with a scoreless frame. He threw 1.0 inning giving up two hits while striking out two and walking one. Lobstein has shown success early in spring training, and as the fight for the fifth starter spot rages on, Lobstein has yet to give up a run in spring training. He has walked quite a few batters, but has shown that he can work out of tough situations and strand runners.

Trey Haley followed and threw a scoreless inning of relief giving up two hits and walking a batter. In five spring training innings, Haley has struck out four batters and has only given up two walks. Haley will more than likely start the year in Double A Altoona, but the spring training success will no doubt help him in his development in the minor leagues.

The competition for the middle relief spot in the bullpen was next as Eric O'Flaherty and John Holdzkum were next. Each threw a scoreless inning of relief. O'Flaherty retired the side in order while Holdzkum walked a batter and struck one out.

Currently in the middle of the Pirates bullpen Jared Hughes and Arquimedes Caminero are locked in. However that last middle relief spot is still up fro grabs and guys like Holdzkum, O'Flaherty, and Rob Scahill will be battling for it. So far of the three O'Flaherty has had the best spring training. Holdzkum and Scahill have been roughed up as of late, but today's performance proves that Holdzkum could be headed in the right direction.

Daniel Bard finished out the game throwing a scoreless inning while striking out one. Most of his spring training outings have been coming in for one or two outs. Acquired threw a minor league deal this off-season, Bard is looking to turn around his career after being out of the league since 2013. He has pitched for the Red Sox throughout his career and kept his ERA anywhere between the mid 3's to the low 2's. With Ray Searage working with him Bard can try and work things out in Triple A and eventually make his way to the major leagues.

Overall, the pitching did fantastic today and kept a pretty potent offense at bay. Besides the Sandoval home run, the Red Sox offense was kept quiet for most of the day. Vogelsong had a strong showing and proved he has what it takes to compete at the major league level. If Vogelsong can compete and keep the Pirates in ball games, it will go a long way to helping the Pirates succeed in 2016.

The offense was rather quiet today but managed to score just enough runs to squeeze out a victory. With the loss of power bats like Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker, sometimes the Pirates will have to win the close ones like they did today.

Jake Goebbert shined today going 2 for 2 with one RBI on the day. Goebbert is one of many first baseman on the roster that is vying for major league playing time in 2016. Goebbert might be put on the back burner with guys like John Jaso, David Freese, and Michael Morse all ahead of him for the first base job. However, he does provide good infield depth down in Triple A Indianapolis.

Pedro Florimon had the big hit that sealed the victory for the Pirates. With one run in on the Goebbert single, Florimon stepped up with two on and two out and promptly delivered a two out two RBI single that put the Pirates ahead for good. Florimon finished the day going 1 for 3 with that RBI single.

Cole Figueroa performed well today as well going 2 for 2. Figueroa has performed well so far in spring training hitting .350 and showing the ability to play multiple positions on the field including third base, short stop, second base, left field, and right field. This versatile depth in Triple A will be key to helping out the Pirates in 2016.

Overall, today was a good day for the Pirates as they showed they can pitch with any team in the major leagues. Small ball will be the name of the game for the Pirates this season as they look to score as many runs as they can to pull out close victories. I feel that this team is equipped to succeed this season and beyond.

The Pirates have an off day tomorrow but return to action on Wednesday when they take on the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. The Orioles will throw out righty Kevin Gausman who threw two scoreless inning in his last outing. The Pirates will counter with righty Juan Nicasio who has had a strong spring throwing six scoreless innings while striking out six batters. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.