The State of the Pirates' Non-Roster

A look at non-roster players who could get a chance this spring

Hunter Stratton. Photo Credit: WTM

Non-roster invitees (NRIs) are a big feature of spring training, even while they generate little attention in roster battle stories. Like every other team, the Pirates will have dozens of non-roster players in camp, but only a small number have a realistic chance of making the team. Many will be AAA depth players. Some are prospects who are just getting a taste of a major league camp.

The Pirates’ current front office has been a bit more active than their predecessors in bringing in prospects, especially first-round picks, briefly on NRIs; Termarr Johnson, for instance, was in camp as an 18-year-old in 2023. Some NRIs, especially catchers, are mainly in camp to provide needed personnel.

I thought I’d run through the likely NRIs to see who might be seriously competing for a job. I’m leaving out prospects; players like Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler are in a very different situation from the typical NRI. I’m going to focus on the veterans the Pirates have brought in on minor-league deals. It’s hard to be sure which of the players listed below have invites yet. Ones who’ve been publicly announced so far are: Sergio Alcantara, Gilberto Celestino, Ben Heller, Jake Lamb, Billy McKinney, Michael Plassmeyer, Ryder Ryan and Hunter Stratton. I’m also going to add a wild guess about each player’s chance of making the team out of spring training or getting a callup early in the season.

Undoubtedly, there’ll be more sign before, or even after, camp opens. The Pirates lost an unusually large number of players through minor league free agency, so there are probably still quite a few upper-level roster openings that need to be filled.

Pitchers

Finn Del Bonta-Smith: FDBS came in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. He hasn’t pitched above AA even though he’s nearly 27, and he’s had gopher ball trouble at that level, but he reportedly puts up very interesting pitch-tracking data. That might get him a look in major league camp, although there’s little chance of him seeing Pittsburgh any time soon.

Odds: 0%

Ben Heller: Along with Hunter Stratton, Heller could be the most interesting NRI pitcher in camp. He was a promising prospect in his first couple of years, but he’s struggled with injuries, including Tommy John surgery, since 2018. Since then, he’s had some good and bad stretches when he’s been able to pitch, including a decent stretch with the Braves in 2023. Heller is a right-handed, fastball/slider (or cutter) reliever who’s very tough on right-handed hitters.

Odds: 70%

Michael Plassmeyer: A soft-tossing lefty who relies on command, Plassmeyer is a starter who’s been hit pretty hard since he reached the upper minors, a lot of it in the form of gopher balls. He has a few innings of major league experience, but it’s hard to see him as more than a deep-depth option.

Odds: 10%

Ryder Ryan: Signed as a minor league free agent, Ryan was drafted as a pitcher out of college even though he faced only four hitters while there and didn’t retire any. He’s a fastball/slider reliever who’s generally been solid without dominating. Half his minor league time has come in AAA, all of it in the high-offense PCL, where he has a 4.24 ERA and 10.1 K/9. He’s thrown one inning in the majors.

Odds: 40%

Hunter Stratton: As we already know, Stratton suddenly started throwing strikes around mid-season in AAA in 2023, then got called up and pitched well for the Pirates in September. He got DFA anyway and re-signed on a minor league deal for 2024. He misses a lot of bats, but he pitches up in the zone and can get hurt by the long ball.

Odds: 70%

Wei-Chieh Huang: Huang, who’s from Taiwan, has had a very strange career (summary here) that makes him hard to pin down. That includes being out of organized baseball in 2020-21. He’s worked in swing roles and throws an assortment of pitches, including a change that’s led to very high K rates. The Pirates acquired him in the minor league Rule 5 a year ago, but he missed all of 2023 with an unknown injury. He re-signed on a minor league deal for 2024 and was assigned to Altoona, which could be an indication he did not receive an invite to major league camp. He’s thrown a few innings in the majors, but he probably has some significant recovery time ahead.

Odds: 0%

Isaac Mattson: The Angels drafted Mattson in round 19 out of Pitt. He pitched very well in the low minors and has almost always had high K rates, but he’s had significant control problems over the last few years and spent about half of both 2022 and 2023 in independent ball. He got into a few innings with the Orioles in 2021. The Pirates assigned him to Altoona after signing him to a minor league deal, so I’m not sure whether he’ll be an NRI.

Odds: 0%

Just looking at this list, I have to think the Pirates will add more pitchers on NRIs.

Catchers

The Pirates so far haven’t signed any free agent catchers to minor league deals. It’s possible they’re hoping to be able to outright Ali Sanchez if he doesn’t make the team. Jason Delay has options, but it sure seems like he earned the backup job in 2023. There’ll no doubt be a bunch of upper-level prospects in camp, such as Carter Bins, Abrahan Gutierrez, and Grant Koch.

Infielders

Sergio Alcantara: Alcantara is a glove-only infielder who provides good defense at short and elsewhere. He has 500 plate appearances in the majors, spread over 2020-22, with a .624 OPS. His career OPS in the minors is only .681. He pretty much duplicates Alika Williams.

Odds: 30%

Seth Beer: The Pirates claimed Beer in the minor league Rule 5. He marched along steadily to the majors in 2021, drawing good prospect ratings due to a combination of solid power and contact ability. Just after he reached the majors, though, he suffered a separated shoulder, and he’s never been the same since. He struggled enough in AAA in 2023 that Arizona demoted him to AA. Defensively, Beer plays first and the outfield corners, but he’s really a DH. Assuming he bounces back, his best chance of reaching Pittsburgh will come when the Pirates inevitably trade Rowdy Tellez and, if applicable, Carlos Santana.

Odds: 10%

Jake Lamb: In 2016-17, Lamb seemed to have settled in as a power-hitting third baseman with Arizona. Then he had a series of shoulder injuries, culminating in rotator cuff surgery in 2018, and he’s never recovered. Since then, he’s repeatedly gotten opportunities, usually in the majors, from teams evidently hoping he could bounce back, but he hasn’t. In 2023, he struggled with the Angels, then spent most of the year in AAA with them, and then with the Yankees. He hit well there. Defensively, Lamb can play first or third. Defense is not a strong point.

Odds: 10%

Joe Perez: Since Houston drafted him in the second round in 2017, Perez has missed a lot of time with injuries. His hitting has been solid across the board, although his .727 OPS in 87 games in the PCL in 2023, while still with Houston, wasn’t overly impressive. In August 2023, the Pirates signed him to a minor league deal that runs through 2024. He raked in 25 games with Altoona, but a AAA player should do that. Perez will play most of 2024 at age 24, so he’s still young. Defensively at third, he has a strong arm but not much mobility. Having Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jared Triolo in front of him won’t help.

Odds: 20%

Outfielders

Gilberto Celestino: Celestino is a speedy outfielder who can play an above-average center field. He generally makes good contact and puts up solid walk rates, but he doesn’t have any power. His career OPS is .756 in the minors and .592 in 409 plate appearances in the majors. He’ll play 2024 at age 25, so he’s still young. Celestino largely duplicates Ji Hwan Bae’s skills, so it’s not easy to see a path forward.

Odds: 10%

Billy McKinney: The Pirates acquired McKinney from the Yankees for international pool space. A former first-round draft pick, McKinney’s always shown solid tools across the board, which has kept teams interested in him — he’s been involved in seven trades — but he hasn’t hit enough in the majors. In over 900 plate appearances, he has an OPS of just .674. He has average speed and average defensive ability at all three outfield positions. McKinney will probably be part of a large competition for the last outfield spot on the opening-day roster. Despite not being on the 40-man roster, hitting right-handed probably gave him one advantage over Joshua Palacios, but that won’t help him with Edward Olivares, who is on the roster.

Odds: 20%