Brubaker eyes Opening Day roster spot

PITTSBURGH -- Three days before Spring Training was suspended, the Pirates optioned right-hander JT Brubaker to Triple-A Indianapolis. They made the move because Brubaker wasn’t going to crack their 26-man roster, and he needed innings that simply weren’t available in big league camp.

But Brubaker is back with the Bucs’ big leaguers in Summer Camp, and he might have a chance to be part of Pittsburgh’s pitching staff on a 30-man Opening Day roster. The 26-year-old right-hander needed only 32 pitches to work three solid innings in Sunday afternoon’s intrasquad game at PNC Park.

“Been very happy with him. He’s done a nice job. He threw the ball well again [Sunday],” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Last time he threw, I was able to sit behind the plate, and he executed some really good pitches inside to left-handers. [Sunday] it was just as sharp. It’s good to see that he continues to build up and he’s maintaining his sharpness.”

There’s a chance Brubaker could make the Major League roster out of camp. If not, he’ll be sent back to the Pirates’ alternate training site in Altoona, Pa., to stay ready in case they need another starting pitcher. Either way, Shelton said, Brubaker will be stretched out to start. He was limited to six starts last season due to a right forearm/elbow strain, but he doesn’t expect that will hold him back this year.

“I believe I’m full-go. I feel like I’m ready to go as much as I need to go,” Brubaker said. “I feel healthy. I’m ready for competitive baseball to start back up.”

Brubaker, who is 10-5 with a 3.02 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 26 Triple-A starts over the past two years, said he’s been pitching every fifth day -- like a starting pitcher -- and hasn’t been approached about serving as a tandem starter. His only real experience as a reliever came in the Arizona Fall League after the 2017 season. At this point, he’s likely most valuable to the team as an extra starter who’s ready to fill in if a member of the rotation is out with an injury or illness.

But if Brubaker is not in the rotation, is there room for a depth starter like him on the Pirates’ roster? Maybe, if they get as creative as Shelton often says they’ll be. If starters aren’t stretched out to handle six or seven innings at the start of the season, long-relief arms could become more important -- and early in the season, the club will have the extra roster spots to carry them.

“It’s an opportunity. I see another door opening,” Brubaker said. “Just doing what I need to do, keeping my head focused. So it’s a great opportunity to be back here, actually, in Pittsburgh.”

Unlike most of the players in camp, Brubaker hasn’t spent much time at PNC Park. He visited to sign with the team after being selected in the sixth round of the 2015 Draft. He came back three years after that, when he was named the Pirates’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year, then again for PiratesFest last year.

When Spring Training shut down, he remained in Bradenton, Fla., to work out with a small group of Pittsburgh pitchers at the Pirate City complex. He was able to stay in shape, fine-tune his delivery and throw under the supervision of bullpen coach Justin Meccage. He was able to keep working on his four-seam fastball and curveball, two pitches he’s trying to emphasize along with his sinker and slider.

“It’s kind of been just a waiting game. Got a couple Spring Training games in against different-colored uniforms, then all of a sudden [it] come to a halt,” Brubaker said. “It’s been a waiting game now, getting that itch to get back out there and start playing competitive baseball again.”

Around the horn

• The Pirates played a full nine-inning intrasquad game on Monday night, albeit with coaches playing the field for the second half of the scrimmage. Right-hander Joe Musgrove looked sharp in his six innings, striking out seven batters in the first five innings alone. His only real mistake came in the first inning, and Josh Bell belted the pitch into the right-field seats with an exit velocity of 110 mph.

“I think more the question would be what I didn’t like about Joe Musgrove tonight. I think he made one bad pitch tonight, and you guys saw it. Josh capitalized on it, which was kind of a win-win,” Shelton said. “He executed one pitch poorly, and Josh hit a home run. One thing that really stood out to me was his ability to use all his pitches. … His feel on his pitches tonight was about as close to being ready for the season, I think, as you can see out of a guy.”

• On the other side of the matchup, the Pirates unveiled their potential tandem-starter duo: lefty Steven Brault and right-hander Chad Kuhl. Brault started the game and worked three innings, then Kuhl pitched three innings and threw a few additional pitches in the bullpen to ramp up his workload. Brault struck out three and walked one batter without giving up a hit, and Kuhl recorded two walks and two strikeouts in his first inning.

"Different angles, that's for sure. They're both really good pitchers,” said infielder Colin Moran, who struck out against Brault and walked against Kuhl. “Brault, I definitely learned first-hand he's got a sharp slider. And then Chad's got sharp stuff, pretty much for all of his repertoire. So it's different looks. I don't know how that's playing out, but just for tonight, they have sharp stuff. They're really good pitchers.”

• With their first exhibition game coming Saturday and Opening Day only 11 days away, the Pirates are still facing a fair amount of uncertainty with their roster. They haven’t named an Opening Day starter or officially confirmed anyone who’s in their rotation, closer Keone Kela still hasn’t been seen working out at PNC Park, and they will have to trim their Summer Camp roster to 30 players in the coming days.

Shelton said they haven’t made any final decisions, but they expect to send a few players to their alternate training site in Altoona before breaking camp and heading to St. Louis for their opening series.

“Health plays a large part of that. You don’t want to make decisions prematurely, because then somebody tweaks something and it’s like, ‘Well, we made this decision we’re going to do that,’” Shelton said. “We’ll probably within the next few days have a good idea of how that’s going to line up.”

• The Pirates on Monday announced the signing of non-drafted free-agent right-hander Parker Brahms, who went 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA and 32 strikeouts in four starts as a senior this spring for Sacramento State University. Brahms, who was signed by Pirates scout Mike Sansoe, agreed to terms on a $20,000 bonus last month.