BRADENTON, Fla. — Hunter Barco’s strong spring ultimately translated into an Opening Day roster spot. The numbers weren’t there for Jose Urquidy, but he also has more experience than any pitcher on the Pirates roster.
With the Grapefruit League season concluding Monday, the Pirates have chosen both to make their Opening Day roster. Also per sources, as the moves have not yet been announced, Mike Clevinger will head to Triple-A Indianapolis.
That means the Pirates pitching staff in New York will look like this:
Starters (5): Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Carmen Mlodzinski, Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler
Relievers (8): Urquidy, Barco, Yohan Ramirez, Mason Montgomery, Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Gregory Soto and Dennis Santana.
As for usage, Urquidy gives the Pirates length on a long-relief role. Meanwhile, the Pirates could look to deploy Barco similarly to how they used Ashcraft last season: shorter bursts to manage innings, allowing his stuff to play up, then adjusting based on results and need.
Barco certainly showed that he’s capable this spring. While adding three pitches, he showed a diverse arsenal led by a four-seamer, splitter and slider. The changeup became a way to get quick outs. Though he’s left-handed, Barco didn’t fare terribly well against same-side hitters, which is why he added a sinker. The sweeper was actually supposed to be the offseason focus after copying Thomas Harrington’s grip.
Barco struggled with control in his first few outings but finished by regularly filling up the strike zone. After walking five in his first 4 1/3 spring innings, he issued just one free pass in his final five, pitching to a 2.89 ERA overall.
If Barco throws strikes, there’s natural deception in his delivery, while his splitter gets a bunch of of swing and miss (42.9% whiff rate).
“Really worked hard and I feel like I put myself in a good position,” Barco said. “Had one bad game against the Tigers. Other than that, I felt like I was dominant the whole time.”
Urquidy, who won a World Series with pitching coach Bill Murphy in Houston, competed in Spring Training for the fifth starter spot, which ultimately went to Mlodzinski — who by the way will start Sunday for strategic reasons.
After Skenes and Keller open the Mets series, the bullpen should be plenty rested. That gives the Pirates the option of keeping Mlodzinski’s start short.
Urquidy, signed Feb. 5 to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, went 0-1 this spring with a 9.28 ERA in four games (three starts) totaling 10 2/3 innings.
After sizable injury troubles — Tommy John and shoulder — over the past few seasons, limited Urquidy to just 2 1/3 innings since 2024, the 30-year-old has been healthy.
He shelved his sweeper and has been working on a shorter slider. Urquidy’s changeup and curveball have always been very good pitches. He’s not a high-velocity guy but throws plenty of strikes.
The question with Urquidy becomes deciding something based on such a short Spring Training sample size or relying more his experience: a 4.08 ERA in 46 1/3 postseason innings, plus a 3-0 record and 1.23 ERA in five World Series games.
By putting Urquidy on the roster, maybe the Pirates are accounting for his spring numbers the way they did for Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana or Bailey Falter: reading nothing into them.
As a non-roster invitee, Clevinger was fighting an uphill battle, though he pitched well enough to catch the Pirates’ attention. Healthy for the first time in years, much like Urquidy, Clevinger saw his fastball velocity continually tick up, touching 97 mph in his final outing. He sat comfortably around 95 mph.
The right-hander worked 14 1/3 innings over five games (two starts), producing a 5.02 ERA to go along with 10 walks and 15 strikeouts. If he pitches well in Triple-A Indianapolis, Clevinger could put himself in position for a promotion whenever a bullpen need arises.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.