BRADENTON, Fla. -- The schedule on Monday at Pirate City wasn’t all that different than it’s been in years past. After a morning meeting, players went their separate ways for infield drills, bullpen sessions, team defensive work, baserunning drills, bunting practice and batting practice. But Monday’s workout was the start of a new era for the Pirates.

With the whole Spring Training roster assembled for the first time, new manager Derek Shelton led Pittsburgh through its first full-squad workout on Monday. While new general manager Ben Cherington stood on Field 4 talking to club chairman Bob Nutting and new team president Travis Williams, Shelton instructed coaches and players -- at one point inserting himself into a drill as a runner on third base.

“It’s exciting. The first day of camp’s always exciting. The energy’s good,” Cherington said afterward. “We talked about practicing with intent -- every rep counts -- and we see a lot of that out there.”

These things can be overstated in Spring Training, when everyone is typically in a good mood under the Florida sun that shined brightly on Monday morning, but the energy was indeed different during the Pirates’ first workout. The fields were flooded with front-office officials, eager to see the club’s players and coaches together for the first time.

Nutting and Williams stood with Cherington for the better part of an hour, asking questions about what they were watching and even specific players. (They were curious, as many are, about the challenges 6-foot-7 prospect Oneil Cruz might face playing shortstop at his height.) Shelton bounced around, stepping in to explain certain drills or chat with a few players and coaches.

Shelton addressed the team around 9:30 a.m., sharing many of the same thoughts he’s brought up since taking over as manager in November. He also encouraged the Pirates to be willing to “lean into mistakes” and learn from them before they line up at Tropicana Field for Opening Day on March 26.

“If we don’t get out of our comfort zone and do things, we’re not going to get better,” Shelton said. “It’s not like, ‘Hey, we really want to make mistakes.’ But I think you learn a lot, if you make a mistake or you do something, it’s a discussion point. We’re able to say that really works or that doesn’t work. Any kind of healthy communication builds trust, and trust is built at times through making a mistake and having a conversation about it.”

The Pirates will hold only four more of these workouts before their Grapefruit League schedule begins on Saturday at LECOM Park. Things will get more interesting on Tuesday, when their hitters face their pitchers during live batting practice. Once games begin, the competition for roster spots should come into clearer focus.

“We want there to be a competitive aspect to camp. As we get into it, we want Shelty and the coaches to talk about that more,” Cherington said. “We know that to be a really good team, we’re going to need more out of a lot of parts of the team. Some of that’s going to come through guys that have been in regular roles continuing to grow and reach another level of performance, and some of that’s going to come from taking spots where maybe we haven’t gotten as much, through player improvement or competition, getting more out of that -- and, over time, adding.”

Frazier reveals early 2019 injuries
Adam Frazier seemed to get better as the season went on last year, and he explained on Monday that there was a good reason behind that trend.

Frazier said for the first time on Monday that he broke his right index finger last Spring Training, then sustained a Grade 1 separation of his right shoulder after an awkward fall on Opening Day. Frazier was sidelined for a stretch last spring, but he didn’t miss any time after the shoulder injury and, in fact, led the 2019 Pirates with 152 games played.

Frazier said he didn’t want anyone to disclose his injuries, nor was he trying to use them as excuses for his early-season slump. A Gold Glove Award finalist at second base, Frazier’s OPS by month went: .681, .633, .714, .922, .721, .866.

“I don’t like to use it as an excuse. … I might have hit a little better. Hopefully [I can] put all of that behind us and go forward,” Frazier said. “I just put my head down and go play. Something’s really got to be hurting to keep me off the field.”

With help from hitting coach Rick Eckstein, Frazier also made an adjustment around the All-Star break that helped him hit the ball hard more often.

“Hopefully we can put [it] together from Game 1 to Game 162 and so on. Rick had me in a good place the last couple months, and I really just took that into the offseason, what we worked on,” Frazier said. “Some little things here and there, catch the ball out front, being able to drive the baseball. That’s what I took into the offseason, trying to carry it here.”