The Pittsburgh Pirates released their Wild Card roster today, making the final decisions on who they will have available to them in tonight’s game against the San Francisco Giants. The rosters are below, and thoughts on the rosters are below that.
Pitchers (9)
Edinson Volquez
Mark Melancon
Tony Watson
John Holdzkom
Jeff Locke
Jared Hughes
Justin Wilson
Vance Worley
Bobby LaFromboise
Catchers (3)
Russell Martin
Chris Stewart
Tony Sanchez
Infielders (7)
Ike Davis
Gaby Sanchez
Neil Walker
Jordy Mercer
Josh Harrison
Clint Barmes
Brent Morel
Outfielders (6)
Andrew McCutchen
Starling Marte
Travis Snider
Gregory Polanco
Jose Tabata
Andrew Lambo
Yesterday I posted a prediction for the roster. There were only two changes from that prediction to the current roster. The first change was Brent Morel over Chase d’Arnaud. I mentioned yesterday that the final spot looked to be down to Morel, d’Arnaud, Andrew Lambo, and Jose Tabata. It appears the Pirates are going with Brent Morel’s ability to play third base, rather than d’Arnaud’s ability to be a pinch runner. They do have a pinch running option off the bench in Polanco.
The other difference was Jeff Locke over John Axford. I thought that the Pirates would go with Bobby LaFromBoise over Jeanmar Gomez to give a third lefty in the bullpen. That’s what they did, although Locke over Axford gives them a fourth lefty. The Giants have a lefty-heavy lineup, and it appears the Pirates are loading up against that.
