PITTSBURGH — Through 11 games of the 2018 Pirates season, the one part of the team that almost no one is talking about is the bench.
The starting lineup has exceeded almost all expectations and has turned out to be one of the best run-producing threats in the majors. The starting rotation has dealt with the loss of Joe Musgrove pretty well thanks to solid, if short, starts from most of the rest of its members the first two times through the order. The bullpen has been rough, with the middle and front of the bullpen completely unreliable and the overall numbers at the back of the league.
The bench, meanwhile, is seemingly just along for the ride, mostly doing its job and staying out of the way. That’s fairly remarkable, considering that they’re doing it with just four men. A four-man bench is a rarity in the majors, particularly in the National League, and though the popularity of the strategy has increased in recent years, it remains rare because it provides lots of stumbling points throughout the game.
What if a team runs out of pinch hitters and a pitcher has to bat? What if a team needs to make a double switch, but doesn’t have a bench player at the right position? What if the backup catcher pinch hits and then the starter gets hurt?
That’s how weird stuff happens like position players catching, pitchers hitting and shortstops playing first base. In baseball, those things happening once in a while can break up the monotony of a 162-game season and seem fun. But a strategy that intentionally risks those circumstances coming up at meaningful times in meaningful games seems foolhardy.
Unless, of course, all of that is part of the plan.
The Pirates do have a four-man bench. But they don’t just have any four-man bench. Super sub Sean Rodriguez can play seven positions, and he’s dying to add an eighth and catch one of these days. Adam Frazier can play six spots in a pinch and Josh Harrison can play at least five. So a shortstop at first base or a second baseman in right field isn’t scary at all for the Pirates, because they have the positional versatility to make just about any move they need to happen.
Rodriguez is the lynchpin in that regard. The Pirates have one player that can be a backup at basically any position in the field.
“It definitely makes that decision a lot easier with me and Frazier,” Rodriguez said. “Both of us obviously can move around and play pretty much anywhere. Then, you put an experienced bat like David Freese on the bench and, yeah, you’ve got yourself a quality bench. I think it definitely helps that you’ve got someone that can play anywhere on the field and then you’ve got someone on the field (Josh Harrison) that can move around, too. So, those are all variables that tie into that and make that decision a little bit easier.”
So that means that Rodriguez is OK with being the backup catcher at times?
“Yes, except the only thing I’m going to change, and it’s the same thing I’ve always said, I’m the emergency catcher,” Rodriguez said, laughing. “You don’t want me to have to catch.”
But the fact that usual backup catcher Elias Diaz has already been used as a pinch hitter means that he’s just one wayward foul tip or pulled muscle away from being pressed into to duty at times.
“It might happen,” he said. “I welcome it. I definitely welcome it. I’ve gotta get that box checked off.”
Staying ready to play seven different positions in the field is a tough job, but Rodriguez has been doing it long enough that he has a system for staying sharp.
“Over time, you develop so many reps at certain positions that it does become habit,” he said. “That was something that we talked about with Clint (Hurdle) — what are some spots that I really wasn’t going to mix in? I told him when I go out for BP, I always take ground balls at short and I always go shag at center. I don’t necessarily move around unless I’m starting at a particular position that day. The reason for that is if you can take ground balls at short, where you have to move your feet more than any other position, you should be able to float into the other positions, if you’ve played them enough.”
For Hurdle, the change to a four-man bench isn’t just about getting his bench players ready to play multiple positions. It’s changed how he can manage certain parts of the game. On Wednesday in Chicago, with the game tied, Hurdle left starting pitcher Steven Brault in the game to hit after he’d thrown his final pitch so the Pirates didn’t need to use one of their pinch hitters.
The other potential stumbling point that’s come up is when players suffer a minor injury. The Pirates have gone through one game where Gregory Polanco wasn’t available at all and another where Jordy Mercer couldn’t hit. Those games are especially tough to manage.
“When everything is going smooth, it’s not a big deal, however when one guy gets dinged up and can’t play for a day or two, it really complicates things,” Hurdle said. “You probably don’t have four days to nurse a guy through injury like you did with a five-man bench. You might have to pull the string on a guy and use a DL assignment quicker. It’s tough to play with three men on the bench in a National League game when one of them is a catcher. Very tough. No matter how versatile they are.”
There are positives, too. Rodriguez said the short nature of the bench makes it easier for each player to stay ready, because there’s a good chance they’ll be used almost every game.
“I feel like the short bench just keeps you that much more locked in and that much more ready to go.”
Then there’s the big one: the extra arm in the bullpen. Through 11 games, the Pirates relievers have a 7.51 ERA, worst in the majors, and it had a rough night on Wednesday, with both Tyler Glasnow and Josh Smoker giving up four runs. The ability to have another long reliever in Clay Holmes, plus two more early-inning arms in Dovydas Neverauskas and Edgar Santana is the reason the Pirates made the move they did.
If Hurdle and company can keep managing to make the bench work, expect the new status quo to continue.
“So far, so good,” Hurdle said.
