Cederlind in closer role? 'That's the dream'

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- With the new season, some things have changed more than others. Pirates manager Derek Shelton saw one big difference regarding reliever Blake Cederlind from his first Spring Training in 2020 to this year’s camp.

“I wish he had the [long] blonde hair back,” Shelton said. “I want him to go back to last Spring Training. He looks too buttoned-up to me.”

Cederlind says he’s growing it back, but like many things in Spring Training, it’s still a work in progress. He’s come into camp with a couple things to work on in his arsenal, too, as he looks to build himself into a leverage option -- or a potential closing candidate.

Friday was the latest step in Cederlind’s spring progression, as he threw one inning against the Phillies in a 3-0 loss at BayCare Ballpark. His lone mistake came against Andrew McCutchen, whom he got into an 0-2 count before the former Pirate lifted a solo homer off the current Pirate.

Cederlind is a two-pitch reliever, but the two pitches are weapons. He throws a sinking fastball that has movement and velocity, maxing out at 100.4 mph last season (and 98.8 mph on Friday), and he throws a cutter that has good horizontal break.

“Throwing 99, 100 [mph] with sink and movement -- you just don’t see that often, right?” said catcher Joe Hudson, who paired with Cederlind in his Spring Training debut on Monday against the Blue Jays.

But Cederlind also said he’s looking to work a four-seamer into the mix a bit more this season -- talk about velocity -- though he didn’t throw the pitch in his inning on Friday. Plus, he said the shape of his breaking pitch is also being revamped. Last year, it was more of a cutter, but he said the pitch should have more slider action this season.

Success for Cederlind will be dictated by command as much as stuff. He’s been able to decrease his walk rate in his climb through the Minors after he issued 34 free passes in 58 innings in his first full pro season. With only four Major League innings under his belt, it’s hard to tell just how much of a working point it will be this season, but it’s been a clear message to him by the coaching staff.

“Be aggressive,” Shelton said. “Let the action of his ball do the work. The kid’s got really good stuff. As he continues to grow up, develop and mature, it’s [throwing] the ball on the plate, make guys beat him in the zone.”

“In the Minors, I went through a little bit of a struggle finding the plate,” Cederlind said. “But since I’ve cleaned up my mechanics, I’m much more efficient and I can fill up the zone when I need to. I don’t think that’s a problem."

Shelton indicated that, among all the position battles in camp, the closer role is the one least likely to be affected by how spring games go, and he’s comfortable using multiple options in big situations -- at least to start the season.

“We could go into the season maybe without having a guy set in that role, and just kind of use a leverage situation,” Shelton said at the beginning of Grapefruit League games. “Not something I’m spending a ton of time on right now.”

Cederlind is more focused on making the team than filling a particular role, but as he stares into the future, he does hope that a closing job realizes itself sooner or later.

“Absolutely, yeah,” he said. “That’s the dream.”