Battle for final roster spot heating up

The Pittsburgh Pirates have two viable options for final roster spot as spring camp nears end.

With Opening Day against the Cardinals nine days away, the majority of the spots on the Pittsburgh Pirates 25-man roster are all but taken up. However,  with Jung Ho Kang not going to be ready until mid-April at the earliest, there is a battle going on for the final roster spot and the chance to travel north with the team.

The final spot on the roster is more crucial to the Pirates than other teams . It can act as a Swiss pocket knife of sorts. The 25^th  man needs to be a player that can fill multiple roles on the field, on the bases, and at the plate.

The two top candidates for the spot are Pedro Florimon and Cole Figueroa.

Before the signing of David Freese, many wondered if Gift Ngoepe would also be a candidate for a final bench spot. Ngoepe would have been a great story to make the Opening Day roster as the first South African to make it to the Major Leagues. Ngoepe, while having a solid glove, doesn’t have any major league experience and is a right-handed bat, which the Pirates already have plenty of.

Thus, the fight for the 25^th roster spot will likely come down to Florimon and Figueroa.

There are definitely some positives when looking at both players. Florimon and Figueroa can play an assortment of positions effectively. Also, both Florimon and Figueroa are each left-handed hitters off of the bench.

However, the most common way Clint Hurdle has used this 25^th man in the past has been as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. Hurdle wants a sure glove and a speedster that can get around the bases.

The fact is, the roster is stacked with players that can fill the needs of a corner infielder or a corner outfielder. This battle is going to come down to who can come in and play one of the middle infield spots in a crucial part of the game.

While both of these players have the ability to do this, Florimon has far more experience than Figueroa. Florimon has 228 appearances in the field over his career. In those 228 appearances, he has recorded a .971 fielding percentage. Being an American League player for the majority of his career, Figueroa only has 18 appearances in the field due to the fact that managers don’t pull switches nearly as much.

Along with the fielding situation, Figueroa does not have much experience as a pinch runner due to lack of service time and being in the American League. On the other side of the argument, Florimon was one of the Pirates’ go to pinch runners last season recording one stolen base and scoring four runs.

The final factor that will play a big part in who will make the roster is that Florimon is out of options. With that being said, if the Pirates do not assign him to the roster, he will no longer be with the team. As for Figueroa, he still has options left in his contract.

Florimon has been a solid bench player for the Pirates while he has been with the team. If the Pittsburgh Pirates want to play it safe, they will have Florimon on the Opening Day roster.