The Pirates lost another spring training game yesterday, this time to the Blue Jays. Greg Brown has the story.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton made Mitch Keller’s day yesterday, surprising him with the news that he will be the Bucs opening day starter on March 30th in Cincinnati. Keller is 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA, with 15 strikeouts and only two walks this spring.
The Pirates have signed 27 pre-arbitration players on their 40-man roster to one-year contracts, among them All-Star closer David Bednar and rotation regular Roansy Contreras, and outfielder Jack Suwinski. One player who did not sign a deal was shortstop Oneil Cruz, whose contract was automatically renewed at the league minimum of $720,000. The Bucs hope to sign Cruz to a longer term contract but have not said whether they are negotiating.
WBC
At the World Baseball Classic, the United States nipped Colombia 3-2 to advance out of pool play and into the main draw against Venezuela on Saturday. Mike Trout drove in all three runs for the U.S. on two singles.
Elsewhere, Puerto Rico knocked off the Dominican Republic 5-2 but Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, who earned the save for Puerto Rico, suffered a serious knee injury in the celebration afterward and could be gone for the season. Cuba defeated Australia 4-3 in the first quarterfinal matchup of the WBC, Mexico trounced Canada 10-3, and Venezuela topped Israel 5-1.
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