SARASOTA, Fla. -- Joshua Palacios knew patience was the right course of action. He tried to make up for the lost time by challenging himself more in the cage.

But there really is no way to simulate the feel of a real game.

“I’ve been super anxious,” Palacios said. “Just sitting in the trainer’s room and sitting in the clubhouse watching the guys on TV having some fun out there, I miss the game. This is what you live for.”

Palacios finally got back on the playing field Wednesday in the Pirates’ 6-4 loss to the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. He tweaked his lower leg during batting practice at Pirate City last month, which caused his spring delay.

Normally, that would be catastrophic for someone competing for a roster spot, but the Pirates did get a good look at him last year. While his .239 batting average and .692 OPS are not eye-opening, he showed a knack for pinch-hitting and coming through in the clutch, and his peripherals were more encouraging.

There’s obviously more to be learned about him, especially after an offseason of adjustments, but Palacios went from being in Minor League Spring Training last year to a semi-regular player in the Majors down the stretch. That spoke volumes about his growth.

“He’s got an appetite to get better,” manager Derek Shelton said. “... The thing that really stood out last year was just the consistency of him not playing or coming off the bench and having the ability to have good at-bats. Then just the energy he brings. I’m very curious to see the things he worked on and how they’re going to translate.”

A lot of Palacios’ offseason work was trackable all winter. He made multiple trips to Driveline’s training facilities to try to pick up bat speed, and the videos of his workouts circulated through social media.

Being hooked up to dozens of sensors to track his every motion was new to him, but it was a winter of experimentation.

“I’m always trying to figure out ways to learn more about myself,” Palacios said. “They’re not always my ideas.”

Actually, a lot of the experimenting Palacios did this winter came from LeBron James and Tom Brady. The two were dominant in their respective sports well into their late 30s, and while Palacios is only 28 years old, he knew he couldn’t wait to get started on a program like that.

So he tried to pick up bat speed at a prestigious facility. He did a blood test to figure out how he should adjust his diet. He focused on breathing so he could feel better prepared to compete.

Basically, he asked what James would do.

“He’s been around for a long time, he’s still performing,” Palacios said. “I look for guys like that at a high level at later ages and try to find out what they do to keep my body in the best shape. … I study guys like Kobe [Bryant], Brady, LeBron, the work they did when they were younger, the process they did when they were younger is why they could do what they do today.”

While James-level production is surely out of reach for Palacios, his goal is to take another step forward and earn a spot on the team.

“I had a decent year last year and I enjoyed last year, but I’m just locked in trying to get better than I was last year,” Palacios said. “How can I be a better player today than I was yesterday? And how can I be better tomorrow than I was today?”

Jones in starter mix
The Pirates have an open competition for two of their rotation spots, and the club's No. 3 prospect Jared Jones is among the contenders.

Jones, 22, has yet to reach the Majors, but he made 15 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis last season and has wowed in camp so far this spring, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings while touching 101.1 mph on the radar gun.

“We’re in a different place than we’ve been the previous four years in terms of roster construction,” Shelton said. “It’s gonna be the totality of everything, not just what happens in Spring Training. We’ve said that with a lot of guys coming in, we have to take prior innings into place, prior ability to look at the repertoire. The fact that he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues, understand that. But also taking what we feel is the best club north is gonna be important to us.”