Bucs, Twins Finish Grapefruit League With 1-1 Tie; Roster Set

Today’s Game:

JT Brubaker concluded the Grapefruit League’s 2021 season, followed by Sean Poppen and Edgar Santana. The lineup was regular season (Frazier, Hayes, Reynolds, Moran, Polanco, Newman, Stallings, Brubaker and Alford), with the twist of the pitcher being in the eight-hole.

It was a great tuneup for Brubaker. He went five innings, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out four against the Twins. Poppen and Santana both tossed clean frames with a K apiece, and that was it as the seven-inning spring finale ended 1-1.

The Pirates were slumbering at the dish, too, with Ke’Bryan Hayes first-inning dinger the sole run maker. Colin Moran had two raps, and the three were all Pittsburgh could manage.

2021 Opening Day Roster:

The Pirates set their 26-man roster. The pitchers are Tyler Anderson, Dave Bednar, JT Brubaker, Trevor Cahill, Kyle Crick, Wil Crowe, Mike Feliz, Sam Howard, Mitch Keller, Chad Kuhl, Luis Oviedo, Rick Rodriguez, Chris Stratton and Duane Underwood Jr. The position players are C Jake Stallings & Michael Perez; IF Ke’Bryan Hayes, Kevin Newman, Adam Frazier, Colin Moran, Erik Gonzalez & Phil Evans; OF Bryan Reynolds, Tony Alford, Gregory Polanco & Dustin Fowler.

The club elected to carry 14 pitchers (last year’s pitching cap of 13 was waived for 2021) and 12 position guys, leaving themselves with a pretty thin, AL-style bench of four players, with Gonzalez and Evans being the jack-of-all-trades depth.

Notes:

• The Toddfather is back; he’s reportedly signed a minor league deal with the Bucs. 
• C Tony Wolters was released today. RHP Chase De Jong and LHP Chasen Shreve were reassigned after yesterday’s game. 
• LHP Steven Brault (left lat) and RHP Cody Ponce (right forearm) will start the season on the 15-day IL.
• The Angels agreed to a deal with LHP Tony Watson for one-year/$1M.