BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates opened spring training with a three-man competition between Anthony Alford, Greg Allen and Cole Tucker to see who will join Bryan Reynolds and Ben Gamel in the outfield.
What happened Sunday basically took what looked to be fairly firm plans — Allen the winner, Tucker close — and chucked them in a blender.
Alford won’t be on the opening day roster due to a right-hand injury, manager Derek Shelton confirmed after the Pirates suffered a 9-2 loss to the Rays at LECOM Park. The outfielder swung a bat Saturday but hasn’t progressed nearly enough to where he’d make it back in time.
Meanwhile, Allen exited Sunday’s game after two innings with left hamstring discomfort and is now considered day-to-day. Into Allen’s place stepped Diego Castillo, who had never played the outfield in a professional game but apparently has practiced there.
“He's had a good spring,” Shelton said of Castillo. “We talk about versatility. We asked him about playing out there, and he said, ‘Yeah.’ We had planned on playing him out there two or three innings out there anyway. Then Greg came out, and we figured we'd get him five or six.”
As for Allen, Shelton said “it’s too early to tell” and that “tomorrow we’ll have a better idea of where he’s at.”
Where Allen has been overall this spring has been on the bases; he’s hitting .294 in nine games with a .538 on-base percentage, two home runs and a Grapefruit League-high four steals.
If Allen can’t go, it could open the door for Bligh Madris, who’s not on the 40-man roster but has been one of the better stories of camp. Although Madris went 0 for 2 Sunday as a defensive replacement, he’s still hitting .389 with three home runs and two doubles this spring.
“I'm not trying to get too ahead of myself,” Madris said Sunday morning. “Still a few days left. I just want to continue being the player I am right now. If I can be consistent and be that guy everyday, I have a feeling I'll be up with the team sooner rather than later.”
Madris’ power surge came after some swing adjustments he made this offseason with Class AAA Indianapolis hitting coach Eric Munson and the Indians’ integrated performance coach, Brady Conlan. The biggest point of emphasis has been for Madris to be more upright, enabling his quick hands and long arms to work.
“They basically said, ‘This guy has 30 homers in him if he wants it,” Madris said. “I think they saw something that would help free me up.”
Whatever Conlan and Munson did, it has seemingly worked. Madris hit .267 with a .770 OPS in 114 games last season across two levels, ending at Class AAA. He had 25 doubles, a triple and nine home runs, compiling 56 RBIs and scoring 45 runs.
It was good. But not this.
The Alford thing is unfortunate because he said the injury hampered him early on, the outfielder not directly blaming it for his 1-for-13 performance but also admitting he wasn’t 100%. After “getting blown up” about eight days ago, Alford tried again to swing Tuesday or Wednesday and couldn’t without considerable pain.
The hand felt “a little better on Saturday” when he hit off of a tee, but that’s a long way from facing the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. So Alford, who has also struck out nine times, will start the year on the injured list.
“If this was a normal spring and it happened when it did, I would have enough time [to be ready for opening day],”
Appearing on the AT&T SportsNet broadcast Sunday, general manager Ben Cherington said the Pirates are leaning toward carrying 14 pitchers and 14 position players. That would translate into a five-man bench, one that also includes Josh VanMeter and a backup catcher. It could include either Michael Chavis or Tucker if Allen is healthy.
Speaking of backup catcher, the Pirates expect to choose between Michael Perez, Jamie Ritchie or a third option (Taylor Davis? Maybe they sign someone?) in relatively short order.
"I think we're really close,” Shelton said. “I think we'll have an answer [Monday].”
If the Pirates stay internal, it might make sense to give Ritchie a look. Perez has hit just .133 in eight spring training games, down from his .143 from 2021.
Ritchie has hit .333 in seven games and doesn’t have as much power; however, he did hit .317 with an .846 OPS in 79 games last season with Class AAA Reno (Arizona). There might be something to that offensive uptick.
“I came into this thing just trying to leave no stone unturned,” said Ritchie, who chalked up his success last season to getting more lift on the ball. “Whatever happens, I can be satisfied that I know inside that I did everything I could to try and make the team.”
The Pirates signed Ritchie, 28, to a minor league deal in the offseason. Perez, meanwhile, did hit seven home runs last season, experiencing periods where he appeared to have a decent amount of power.
“Last season was not good,” Perez said. “I worked hard this offseason to bounce back, especially my offense. I gotta be more consistent.”
Roster trimmed
The Pirates after Sunday’s game reassigned pitchers Chase De Jong and Eric Hanhold to Class AAA Indianapolis. There are 37 active players remaining in camp.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: April 3, 2022, 4:47 p.m.
Updated: April 3, 2022, 9:33 p.m.
