With the Winter Meetings firmly in the rearview mirror and a new year around the corner, it’s time for a Pirates Inbox. Here are several questions from this past week that I tackled.

Opening Day … 2023 … what uniform will Bryan Reynolds be wearing? What [does] your gut tell you? -- @Jeff_Michael

A baseball uniform, probably!

In all seriousness, the general vibe, based on what has been said publicly, is that Reynolds will be a Pirate come Opening Day. Here’s the statement that the Pirates released after the request went public (italics for emphasis):

“While it is disappointing, this will have zero impact on our decision-making this offseason or in the future. Our goal is to improve the Pirates for 2023 and beyond. With three years until he hits free agency, Bryan remains a key member of our team. We look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates.”

The public nature of the trade request damages Pittsburgh’s leverage, but the Pirates are still in a position to demand a significant trade package. Along with Reynolds’s resumé, he still has three years of team control and does not become a free agent until 2026. If a team wants to acquire Reynolds, they’ll likely need to clear a very high bar and assemble a package featuring multiple top prospects and young players.

What players do you suspect [will be] making their MLB debut in 2023? -- @JoeLowrey10

The Pirates might not see as many debuts as last season, but there are a handful of prospects who project to get their first taste of the Majors next season.

Assuming health, Henry Davis, Quinn Priester, Nick Gonzales, Endy Rodriguez, and Mike Burrows, all of whom are among the top eight of the Pirates’ Top 30 Prospects list per MLB Pipeline, are very strong candidates to make their debuts. Burrows and Rodriguez, in particular, have especially strong chances since they were added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. All of them will likely begin the season with Triple-A Indianapolis and all of them could suit up with the black and gold by season’s end.

The list goes on from there. Jared Triolo and Colin Selby, both of whom were added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft as well. Malcom Nunez. Matt Gorski. Tahnaj Thomas. J.C. Flowers. To get a bit ambitious, maybe Jared Jones could get a cup of coffee.

Do you see any possible trades of players such as [Travis Swaggerty or Cal Mitchell to] add to the MLB roster in positions of need? -- @scook6861

The Pirates’ outfield is in an interesting spot. Reynolds, assuming he isn’t traded, is a lock for the Opening Day roster. Jack Suwinski, Miguel Andújar and Connor Joe, whom the Pirates acquired on Sunday, are viable candidates to represent Pittsburgh on March 30 in Cincinnati as well.

Once you get past those four, there’s the plethora of young outfielders who will be fighting for at-bats: Swaggerty, Mitchell, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Ryan Vilade and Tucupita Marcano. All young, all in need of consistent at-bats.

With so many names in the running, there just isn’t enough playing time to go around at the Major League level. It would make a lot of sense for the Pirates, at some point, to strongly consider trading one of those outfielders to address other needs.

[Chase] Dollander or [Dylan] Crews? -- @DudsMcBanger

Over the next seven months, outfielder Dylan Crews and right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander will be the pair of names that constantly come up as options with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. So, let’s quickly dissect their candidacies.

Crews could have potentially been a first-round pick out of Lake Mary High School in Florida, but he instead elected to attend LSU. With the Tigers, Crews has been nothing short of a superstar in the collegiate realm. In 125 career games, he owns a .356/.458/.677 slash line with 40 home runs, and he’s got a laundry list of accolades to match. Crews transitioned to center field as a sophomore and proceeded to make the SEC All-Defensive Team. As of this moment, Crews is the favorite to go first.

Dollander ascended to the tip-top of prospect rankings and mock drafts in his first season with Tennessee, and another dominant season with the Vols could sway the Pirates to select him instead of Crews. The right-hander transferred to Tennessee after one season at Georgia Southern, where he had a 4.04 ERA with 64 strikeouts to 28 walks in 49 innings. Upon joining the Vols, Dollander took a quantum leap forward. His ERA dropped (2.39), his strikeout rate rose (11.76 K/9 to 12.30 K/9) and his walk rate plummeted (5.14 BB/9 to 1.48 BB/9). If Dollander, the Draft’s top-rated pitcher, can refine his changeup and curveball, he’ll have a legitimate case to usurp Crews.