Pirates' Bae Ji-hwan (26) survived again. The final hurdle toward the opening 26-man roster remains.
On the 23rd (Korea time), Pittsburgh announced roster changes after finishing a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Catcher Henry Davis, utility player Billy Cook, and Nick York were sent down to Triple-A Indianapolis Indians through minor options.
Additionally, pitcher Hunter Stratton was added to the 40-man roster, while outfielder Joshua Palacios was designated for assignment.
The 'top prospect' Davis, who was picked first overall in the 2021 draft, did not make the opening roster. In this spring training, he batted .250 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs over 15 games, but was beaten out for the backup catcher position by Endy Rodriguez, who has batted .321 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs over 14 games.
Palacios, competing for a backup outfield spot, was notified of his DFA. He struggled with a batting average of .211 over 9 games in spring training, possibly due to the residuals of a left knee injury, and with all minor options exhausted, Pittsburgh had no choice but to DFA him.
As a result, Bae Ji-hwan successfully survived the roster until the last 2 games of spring training. Whether he will join the opening 26-man roster for the game against the Miami Marlins on the 28th will be determined based on the outcomes of the games against the Toronto Blue Jays on the 24th and the Minnesota Twins on the 25th.
Bae Ji-hwan has been performing impressively in spring training, batting .410 with 1 home run, 4 RBIs, 12 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 3 stolen bases over 18 games, with an on-base percentage of .439, a slugging percentage of .641, and an OPS of 1.080. However, he is not guaranteed a spot on the opening roster.
Pittsburgh has established outfielders in left fielder Tommy Pham, center fielder Oneil Cruz, and right fielder Bryan Reynolds. Infielders Adam Frazier and designated hitter Andrew McCutchen can also play in the outfield if needed, so it appears Pittsburgh will take only one backup outfielder.
The battle for that one spot is between Bae Ji-hwan and Jack Suwinski. The left-handed slugger Suwinski, who hit 26 home runs in 2023, has also performed well in spring training with a batting average of .368 over 13 games, with 1 home run, 9 RBIs, 4 runs, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts, 4 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of .419, a slugging percentage of .579, and an OPS of .998. Suwinski has better power potential and a more impressive Major League career than Bae Ji-hwan, making it likely that he will make the opening roster based on his strong spring training performance.
If Bae Ji-hwan had been a utility player covering the infield as he was last year, making the opening roster would have been a strong possibility. However, in this spring training, he has focused solely on the outfield, playing 11 games in center field (7 starts, 49 innings) and 10 games in left field (3 starts, 37⅔ innings). Consequently, entering the roster has become more challenging for him, and Bae Ji-hwan must showcase everything in the remaining 2 spring training games.
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