Ben Cherington said Tuesday that the Pirates will be adding shortstops Nick Gonzales and Liover Peguero, two of their top prospects, to their 60-man player pool for the season. They will work out at the team's alternate training site in Altoona, Pa..
Both players have to test negative for COVID-19 before they are allowed to participate in team activities or enter the facility.
Cherington was originally reluctant to add players from this draft class or young prospects to their player pool, but spots opened up when Edgar Santana was suspended and Hector Noesi opted out of the season.
"We're continuing to evaluate kind of day to day the best way to use our 60-player pool in terms of putting the best team we can on the major league level, making sure we're supporting the major league team and also trying to find ways to continue development for you know, for some younger players too," Cherington said during a Zoom call from PNC Park Wednesday. "We'll continue to evaluate that day to day."
One of the main reasons for adding the two shortstops was it is harder for hitters to workout on their own. The club feels they can monitor pitchers through videos and give them points to work on, but it is tough for hitters to simulate a season if they cannot face quality live pitching.
The Altoona camp will provide both players an opportunity to still get some instruction and face live pitching.
"That doesn't mean we wouldn't add pitching over the summer also but that was a factor and obviously both those guys are important players for the Pirates so we wanted to make sure we got a chance to spend some time with them in person," Cherington said.
The Pirates are currently using 58 spots on their 60-man roster, including 19 in Altoona. No corresponding moves will need to be made.
It is unlikely either will appear in a game for the Pirates this year, as they would still need to be added to the 40-man roster, which could cost them option years in the future. The Pirates also have depth in the middle infield, including Kevin Newman, Adam Frazier, Cole Tucker and Erik Gonzalez.
The Pirates will be able to add more players to their satellite camp as the season progresses if players get hurt, tests positive for COVID-19 or opts out.
Gonzales was selected seventh overall in the 2020 amateur draft. Baseball America currently has him ranked as the Pirates' second best prospect, behind Mitch Keller, and the 59th best overall.
Scouts projected the 21-year-old to be more major-league ready than most other players in this draft, so if one of these two was to be added to the 40-man roster, he would seem much more likely.
Peguero was acquired in the Starling Marte trade in January. The 19-year-old is ranked by Baseball America as the Pirates' fifth best prospect. FanGraphs' rates him as the 104th best prospect in baseball.
Some of the Pirates' other top prospects in Altoona camp are shortstop Oneil Cruz (fourth in system, 63rd overall), right-handed pitcher Cody Bolton (sixth in system), and shortstop Ji-Hwan Bae (10th in system). Ke'Bryan Hayes, the team's number three prospect, reported to the Pirates' PNC Park camp, though he has yet to reach the field.
Cherington added that he hopes the Pirates will be able to set up additional player development activity in 2020, though there is nothing in place at the moment.
"Right now, we've got to take advantage of what we have, and a lot of that is going on in Altoona now," Cherington said.
More from Cherington.
• Cherington confirmed that the Pirates' opening day 30-man roster will consist of players currently in the PNC Park camp.
"Doesn’t mean there won’t be changes over time, but not expecting anybody who’s not currently in Pittsburgh [right now]," Cherington said.
Right now, there are 36 players working out. Hayes, Keone Kela and Blake Cederlind have not joined the Pirates on the field yet.
• Kela's absence is especially problematic since he was lined up to be the closer. While the Pirates do not have a deadline for what's the latest he could return and still be ready for the opener, the regular season will start July 24.
"Probably just need to continue to make that a daily conversation and keep the players’ health and safety first and foremost and make sure that as guys are available that we make sure we put ‘em in a good spot to be ready to compete against major league players," Cherington said.
If Kela is not available for the start of the season, Kyle Crick could potentially fill the closer role.
"We're excited [about Crick]," Cherington said. "He's a guy that's got a chance to miss bats. He's got really good stuff. He wants to pitch toward the end of the game. Excited to see him out there pitching. Encouraged by how he looks."
• After suffering some setbacks early in the testing process, Major League Baseball's system has been going more smoothly over the past week.
"I'm really encouraged with the amount of effort and thought that's going into designing the system," Cherington said. "And then even since the intake started the league has been really proactive about making adjustments based on feedback they've gotten to make the system run even better. I think the league and everybody is doing everything we can be doing to get the players on the field safely and get to games."
• Oscar Marin has been praised by many for his ability to communicate advanced analytics to players who have not had a lot of training with it.
Add Cherington to the group, though he has used the most unique comparison to do so.
"It’s sort of like a museum."
Ok, how?
"You walk into a museum, and it’s telling a story partly because of how it’s set up. The visual is just as important as the information behind it. You can do an info dump and it might all be good information, but not really effective. That’s something that Oscar and Mess and our informatics group work together on all the time. Not just what’s the best information but what’s the best way to present it. That is great to hear. And definitely encouraged to see the guys get out there and compete and know how hard they’re working to make improvements. "
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