The Pirates made a flurry of moves yesterday to set their thirty-man roster before tonight’s season opener in St. Louis. The only real surprise was they sent outfielder Socrates Brito to their Altoona camp and added outfielder Jason Martin from Altoona to the big league roster.
Three players have been ruled out for the season. The Bucs entered camp knowing pitchers Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer would miss the 60-game campaign, and last Friday they lost backup catcher Luke Maile for the year because of finger surgery.
Gregory Polanco and Keone Kela will start the season on the ten-day injured list with coronavirus, and infielder JT Riddle landed on the injured list with an abdominal strain.
Teams can carry 30 players plus a three-man taxi squad for the first two weeks, and then the active roster must be cut to 28. Catcher Andrew Susac was added to the taxi squad for opening weekend, but the Pirates will not fill the two remaining slots. And reliever Blake Cederlind, the Spring Training sensation who has missed summer camp after testing positive for coronavirus, is active again and was sent to Altoona to pitch his way into shape.
Joe Musgrove gets the start for the Pirates tonight against the Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty. It’s a 7:50 airtime and an 8:15 first pitch on WCCS, FM 101.1 and AM 1160.
The season started last night with the Yankees beating the Nationals, 4-1 in a game called after six innings because of rain. The Dodgers broke open a close game late, whipping the Giants 8-1. Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw missed the start when he was placed on the ten-day injured list with a back injury suffered while lifting weights on Tuesday.
The playoffs in Major League Baseball are close to being expanded to 16 teams. ESPN reports the Major League Baseball Players Association has approved the expansion. It would happen this season, but the owners still need to give their blessing.
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