Love it or hate it, Pirates players grappling with reality of universal DH - TribLIVE

The Pittsburgh Pirates have accepted that the universal designated hitter is coming to the National League, and that’s the only thing universal the Pittsburgh Pirates have accepted about the designated hitter.

Manager Derek Shelton has said the Pirates will use a rotation of players as the DH instead of a making one player their designated hitter. The obvious candidates, first baseman Josh Bell and right fielder Gregory Polanco, would prefer to play their positions in the field.

Then again, the Pirates player who started the most games last season is looking forward to getting a day off from the field. Their best bench bat is pumped for the opportunity to get more at-bats. And their best-hitting pitcher is going to miss the strategy involved, as well as the chance to get his cuts – especially after homering last season.

Shelton simply wants production at the plate.

“I hope that we lead baseball in production at the designated hitter spot. I mean, that would be great,” said Shelton, who has coached in the American League with Tampa Bay, Toronto and Minnesota. “But I think what you’re going to see is you’re not, obviously, going to see the pitcher bunting. You’re not going to see what you saw in the National League game of how the eight-hole hitter and how the seven-hole hitter got attacked. You’re going to see different lineups and how lineups are functionally built now. Essentially, you’re watching an American League game, with being able to rest National League hitters and still have them in the lineup.”

The AL Central will serve as the Pirates’ interleague opponent for 20 of their 60 games this season, featured two players who were primarily in the lineup last season as the DH. The Twins’ Nelson Cruz, who had 41 homers and 108 RBIs last season, batted 60 points higher (.310 to .250) in 114 games as DH than he did in seven as a pinch hitter. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, however, hit 24 points lower (.279) in 107 games as DH than he did in 26 games at first base (.302).

The position appears perfect for players in their mid-to-late 30s, like Cabrera (37), Cruz (40), Jose Abreu (33) and Edwin Encarnacion (37) of the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland’s Carlos Santana (34), but younger players like Jorge Soler (28) of Kansas City and Franmil Reyes (25) of Cleveland split their time between playing a position and DH.

“I think it’s 100% changed,” Shelton said. “There’s very few places where there’s one guy that’s locked into the DH spot every day. And if you have that guy — I coached on a team last year with Nellie Cruz –that’s what you expected Nellie to do, and that’s what he did.”

Shelton expects the Pirates to have a different function, whether he uses starters like Bell, Polanco, Adam Frazier or Colin Moran or bench bats like Osuna, Philip Evans and JT Riddle in that role. They range from hitting for power to hitting for average to high on-base percentages to players who can use their speed to become dangerous on the base paths.

“So to say that we expect one thing out of that spot, we can’t do that, because we’re gonna have a different guy there,” Shelton said. “Now, if we had one guy there all the time it would be an easier question to answer, but because we’re gonna have different guys there, we’re gonna expect different things.”

The Pirates players don’t know what to expect, other than anticipating the equivalent of a day off by not having to play nine innings in the field. Bell believes it will help keep players’ legs fresh, allow injured players to ease back and a hot bat to stay in the lineup without wearing down.

“I think it’s interesting because a lot of guys will able to get that blow here and there,” Bell said. “You take a guy like Reynolds, you take a guy like Newman, and guys like myself – guys that are on hit streaks, 10-, 12-, 14-game hit streaks – you can get their legs a blow but keep their bat in the lineup and continue to push forward as the season progresses.”

It also takes a weak bat out of the lineup and allows managers creativity with their lineups, a chance to balance the power or add speed at the bottom of the order. Only two Pirates starting pitchers batted above the Mendoza line last season – Steven Brault (.333) and Jameson Taillon (.250) – and the eight who made the most starts combined for three doubles, one triple, a homer and 15 RBIs.

Growing up in San Diego, Brault was a fan of NL games because of the strategy, even if he won’t miss being on the mound when a manager makes a double switch.

“Something you’ll never see again is when the manager comes out to take a pitcher out but instead of walking out to the pitcher he walks over to the umpire and shows him the scorecard,” Brault said. “If you’re the pitcher standing on the mound, you’re just like, ‘This is cool. Yeah, I’ll just stand here knowing I’m about to get taken out. This is awesome.’”

By then, Brault’s words were dripping with sarcasm.

“There’s some stuff I’m going to miss, for sure, but, overall, who doesn’t want to watch nine real hitters get after it?” Brault said. “I think it’ll be better for the game. Do I want to hit? Of course, because I got a taste of it last year and now it’s gone, stripped from me. Unbelievable.”

The hitters aren’t shy about getting their swings in on this talk, after years of watching pitchers gloat on the rare occasion when they do hit homers.

“Whenever you take a pitcher out of the lineup, it’s going to help you offensively,” said Frazier, who played in a team-high 152 games last season, starting 133 at second base. “So I think it benefits us tremendously. …

“Nobody dislikes being a DH, I can tell you that.”

Well, almost nobody.

Polanco expressed his dislike for the DH, possibly because he’s the starter most projected to play that role for the Pirates. After missing most of last season coming off surgery on his left (throwing) shoulder, Polanco has made playing right field a priority.

Osuna, on the other hand, could benefit most by the DH. He led the majors with five pinch-hit homers last season, but could thrive in a regular role, whether serving strictly as DH or playing corner infield and outfield positions to give the starters a rest.

“I think that’s gonna be one more opportunity to be in the lineup almost every day,” Osuna said. “There’ll be more chance[s] to play. That’s good for me, and that’s good for my teammates.”

Despite the team’s split, the DH is here to stay – at least, for this season. And Shelton is excited to figure out who to use in that role, even if he has to tiptoe around the topic when suggesting it to everyday players.

“In the National League, you have to be careful putting someone there and saying, ‘Listen, you should do this.’ Because No. 1, National League players are not accustomed to that happening. No. 2, they’re learning how to do it. No. 3, they’d rather be on the field because that’s how it’s gone,” Shelton said. “And that’s why you see, a lot of guys that are really good at it, they learn how to do it. And it’s why I feel strongly about not putting one person in that spot. I would rather use it as a rest day or as a ‘we’re gonna get a really good matchup’ day.”

Either way, it’s a new day for the Pirates, however they want to designate it.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports