Pittsburgh Pirates: Reaction to Berry’s 2018 Opening Day roster prediction
By Derek Snyder
![NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 03: Josh Bell #55 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates his second inning home run against the New York Mets with his teammates in the dugout at Citi Field on June 3, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 03: Josh Bell #55 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates his second inning home run against the New York Mets with his teammates in the dugout at Citi Field on June 3, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/04460b3cdbcc9764113a863fbb472fd2e34a9806e1082914fc263298379a6f4a.jpg)
Adam Berry from Major League Baseball’s official website predicts the Pittsburgh Pirates 2018 Opening Day 25-man roster. Take a look below.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are only a few short days away from their pitchers and catchers reporting for duty at Spring Training. While the cold air is still whipping through Pennsylvania, these Pirates ballplayers will be preparing for the 2018 MLB regular season in the comfortable heat of the deep south.
If you haven’t planned your trip to see the Pirates play a Spring Training game yet, I recommend you start making plans ASAP.
As you already know, Pittsburgh made some big changes this offseason, trading away their two best players: Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen. In a division where the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers looked primed to make the postseason, the Pirates have to ensure their 25-man roster is ready to compete by the end of March.
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With that being said, take a look at Adam Berry’s predictions for the Pirates 2018 Opening Day roster – courtesy of his article on MLB’s official website:
Catchers: Francisco Cervelli and Elias Dias
Infielders: Josh Bell, Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Colin Moran and David Freese
Outfielders: Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Daniel Nava
Utility: Adam Frazier, Sean Rodriguez, Max Moroff, Jordan Luplow and Jose Osuna
Rotation: Jameson Taillon, Ivan Nova, Joe Musgrove, Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams
Bullpen: Felipe Rivero, George Kontos, Daniel Hudson, Michael Feliz and Kyle Crick
Personally, I think this prediction from Adam Berry is pretty spot-on. With Andrew McCutchen sent off to San Francisco, the Pirates have a big hole to fill in the outfield, which will force Pittsburgh to rearrange Marte, Polanco and Nava; however, that is only if Nava is able to make the team after Spring Training.
If not Nava, maybe Sean Rodriguez could fill-in until the team can move an outfielder up from the minor leagues?
Next: Pirates: Important dates to know before 2018 Spring Training
How do you feel about Berry’s predictions, Pirates fans? Do you think he was pretty spot-on with his predictions for the team’s 25-man roster in 2018?