OnlyBucs

One extra catcher, third baseman and middle infielder are all but certain, but the last two spots on the roster will almost certainly go to Pablo Reyes, Milky Cabrera, or Jacob Stallings, and there are are clear pluses and minuses with each candidate.



Reyes offers the most versatility of the three. He gives us needed depth at LF and CF, and many think he earned a shot at a RF platoon with last year's performance. He is one of two RH batters on our roster that could be productive leading off vs. LHSP.



The case for leaving Reyes at AAA probably rests entirely on the fact that he can be optioned. But where would he play at AAA? Kramer will play most of the time at 2B, as will Hayes at 3B and Tucker at SS. Osuna will get some backup AB's at third, and Nick Franklin backs up second and short. Reynolds, Martin and Osuna look set in the OF, with vets like Shuck and Kivlehan also looking for AB's.



I think that keeping Reyes off the 25-man would be a mistake. And that brings us to Cabrera.



If history is the best indicator, Cabrera should be a productive bat sharing the RF job with Lonnie Chisenhall. A switch-hitter with good stats vs. LHP, Cabrera is consistent offensively but no longer a good fielder. That makes him a liability on the road playing RF. It also means he would hurt us backing up Dickerson in LF at PNC, and he simply won't do in center. Not a good pinch-hitter, Cabrera offers little versatility. Chisenhall's injury history calls for extra depth at RF, but given the lineup's need for leadoff vs. LHSP and defensive requirements away from PNC, is Cabrera a better choice than Reyes?



If Chisenhall is healthy as the club leaves for Pittsburgh - and that is not a sure thing - then I think Cabrera should be let go. He would probably be let go upon Polanco's return anyway.



Speaking of injury, that is the best case for keeping Jacob Stallings on the roster. Francisco Cervelli hasn't had a concussion-free season in years. Stallings is easily the best choice in our system to share the catching with Elias Diaz when - not if - Cervelli gets hurt. It would be great to keep Stallings fresh at Indy, but he's out of options. It would be great if we had more depth at catcher, but we don't. And having him around would allow the non-starting catcher to easily become our best pinch hitter. Long term, Stallings looks like he could share the catching job after Cervelli probably leaves in 2020.



In conclusion, the Bucs should probably delay filling the last two bench spots until they're ready to break camp. Barring a related injury, even though he would probably produce the highest OPS of the three, I believe Cabrera should be the odd man out.



That leaves Diaz, Stallings, Gonzalez/Newman, Moran/Kang and Reyes on the bench to start the season.

You make several good points, but I think Cabrera makes the team out of spring training. I too like Reyes, and I think if he ends up at AAA he will start many of the games due to him being so versatile. If he does not make the opening day roster, he will be first up if there was an injury. Just my opinion he has passed Osuna on the team depth chart.

First, I agree with your basic assessment that Gonzalez (or Newman), Diaz, and Kang are nearly automatic to make the team. The one who could drop out of the picture would be Kang if he comes back and shows nothing at the plate or in the field. Kang's early departure would considerably shake up the projected team coming out of spring training.



Continuing, I like Jacob Stallings, but if the Bucs lose him because he is sent to AAA when he is out of options and some other team believes he can help them out, so be it. In that case, if either Diaz or Cervelli are injured, Bucs will need to go find some other cheap veteran catcher who is okay defensively even if they can't hit, as a short-term option. Even though the Pirate organization has no current depth at catcher in the system, the Bucs cannot spend too much time worrying about losing Stallings.



I am not a Cabrera fan. Really would have preferred Dietrich who recently signed for similar money and who has more power. Bucs shouldn't be overly committed to him, particularly when Polanco returns. In short, if he makes the team out of spring training, okay, but unless he is providing real value, don't feel wedded to him.



Reyes' main value is his versatility, his speed, and his potential ability to hit near the top of the order. With most of the Pirate infielders suffering from lead feet defensively (Frazier, Moran and Bell), Reyes could be a decent option to help out at 2nd, SS or 3rd. I would rate Reyes as having a good to better chance of making the team out of spring training.



The only way I see Osuna making the team out of spring training is if Kang fails to impress (shows nothing), Cabrera similarly fizzles, Bell still hasn't found his swing, and Osuna is hitting. To date, Osuna has not hit well or consistently in the majors, or delivered much power. If he can hit and do so with some power, and he is performing better than a statue at both 3rd and RF, he would be a better option than Cabrera for the bench.



Lastly, I loath management's obsession with being cheap. If management had been willing to spend even minor amounts of money to try and improve the team, there were a number of position players who have been plucked out of the market in the past 2 weeks who could have helped. Not as much on the pitching end, but decent position playing veterans who could have helped.

With a 5-man bench, I can't see 2 of them being catchers. Stallings is decent minor league depth and nothing more. They picked up Steve Baron a month ago so he would be the catching depth in AAA if Stallings doesn't clear waivers.



Kang has a spot unless he has a terrible spring. Newman will stick as the backup SS for now. Cabrera has a spot unless he has a terrible spring. Reyes would give them help both at INF and OF.