Notes: Season Opens, Roster, Injuries, Team News, Minor League CBA

Welcome to the 2023 campaign...

Notes:

• The Pirates whupped the Reds at GABP, 5-4, to win the Season Opener. Mitch Keller started, Rob Zastryzny got the win and David Bednar earned the save. Oneil Cruz homered and his sac fly brought in the winning run. It was their eighth straight win over Cincy, a streak that ended by dropping the next two games, 6-2 and 3-1.
• The active roster: SPs Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Vince Velasquez, Rich Hill & Johan Oviedo. The bullpen will be righties David Bednar, Wil Crowe, Chase De Jong, Colin Holderman, Duane Underwood Jr. & Dauri Moreta along with southpaws Jose Hernandez & Rob Zastryzny. Cs are Austin Hedges & Jason Delay; 1B Ji-Man Choi & Carlos Santana; middle IF Oneil Cruz & Rodolfo Castro and 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes. OFs are Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski & Cutch. Bench guys are Ji Hwan Bae, Canaan Smith-Njigba & Connor Joe. 

Graphic via the Pirates

• Pitchers JT Brubaker (elbow inflammation), Jarlin Garcia (nerve injury - left bicep) and Robert Stephenson (elbow discomfort) will start the year on the IL. JT and Rob (he's at Indy on rehab) are on the 15-day list (Brubaker was later moved to the 60-day IL); Jarlin on the 60-day. 
• Returnees from 2022's Opening Day roster are Ps Keller, Bednar, Crowe, Underwood Jr &  Brubaker (IL), OF Reynolds, and 3B Hayes. Reynolds and Hayes are the only two returning starters, with the injured Brubaker the pitcher. 
• The Bucs optioned IF Mark Mathias, C Tyler Heinemann & RHP Yerry De Los Santos to Indy while RHP Tyler Chatwood and IFs Drew Maggi & Chris Owings were reassigned to minor league camp. OF Ryan Vilade was DFA'd.
• The Pirates claimed righty reliever Edwin Uceta, 25, off waivers from the Tigers and optioned him to Indy as depth measure. They made 40-man room by transferring Brubaker from the 15 day IL to the 60 day IL; they're testing for a definite diagnosis of his elbow pain.
• Cutch's shoulder is OK; he had some soreness that limited him to DH'ing, but he started in RF on Sunday and made a nice running catch to prevent a gapper.
• The FO and Bryan Reynolds' people have been wrangling over a contract. The consensus numbers are eight years/$106.75M starting in '23 (he's already under contract for this year at $6.75 M, so in reality it's a seven-year, $100M offer). The hold up is B-Rey wants a 2026 opt out that the Pirates won't agree to provide; both sides have valid arguments to support their positions. We don't know if there are also trade limitations or if the payout front/back loaded, but apparently those items have been agreed on by the two sides. The talks have cooled in the past couple of days, so that last issue is a contentious one..

Bryan Reynolds - 2023 photo/Pirates

• The Pirates finished 9-18-3 this spring. It's tough to read the crystal ball, but the hitting looked a little better with added power while the pitching was pretty inconsistent; the staff still seems to suffer from the "one big inning" syndrome..
• Prospect injury report: 2B Termarr Johnson is in running rehab for his hammy but is till weeks away from baseball. IF Jared Triolo will have hamate surgery; his recovery timeline won't be set until after the procedure. OF Lonnie White Jr. had surgery on his thumb and will be out 7-9 weeks.
• On Saturday, Rich Hill became first 43-year-old pitcher to start for Pirates since Diomedes Olivo in 1962. He's also been named as the starter for the Home Opener against the White Sox on the 7th.
• Pittsburgh opens at home on April 7th when they take on the White Sox. It's a Friday afternoon game with a 4:12 PM start.
• The ushers are negotiating a new contract with the Bucs and are not happy.
• The Pirates Nike City Connect unis are scheduled to make their debut on June 27th at PNC Park, a Tuesday night game against San Diego.
• The MLB and MLBPA agreed on a minor league CBA which basically doubles the farm salaries along with some other tweaks. The players approved it in a landslide; now the owners get it for their approval.